Author Archive | Bob Ehrlich

How Big Can The Obesity Category Be? ? ?78 million adult Americans are classified as obese.? -Bob Ehrlich After the advisory panel recommended Qnexa approval 20-2 last week, Matthew Herper of Forbes wrote a very interesting column questioning the potential of the obesity drug category. His piece was titled, ?Why No Obesity Drug Will Ever […]

A 20-2 Win For Obesity Drug ? ?Qnexa will be a major blockbuster.? -Bob Ehrlich I am happy to see the advisory panel to the FDA overwhelmingly recommend approval of Vivus drug Qnexa. This was the second try by Vivus with the panel, who rejected it late 2010. I was critical of FDA for delaying […]

Television Defense-The Sequel ? ?Mr. LaMattina?s column will only inflame critics.? -Bob Ehrlich I feel like Michael Corleone. I just thought I finished my defense of DTC television and now I am forced to get back in. This week(2/15) Forbes website ran a column from ex-Pfizer R&D chief John LaMattina titled ?Maybe it?s Time for […]

DTC Television Fading? I Doubt it. ? ?Those who predict the end of television will be wrong.? -Bob Ehrlich The New York Times ran an article on its website on 2/2/12 with the headline ?Drug Makers Dial Down DTC Advertising.? The article says spending on television is down 20% since 2007. The reporter, Bruce Japsen, […]

Is Paula Deen the Appropriate Diabetes Celebrity? ? ?Novo Nordisk…ignore the media outcry?and keep Ms. Deen.? -Bob Ehrlich This story is all over the media. Noted celebrity chef, known for her fatty recipes, announced she has Type 2 Diabetes. She also is working with Novo Nordisk as a spokesperson. The drug industry critics are screaming […]

FDA Doing New DTC Survey ? ?I predict physician attitudes will remain similar to 2002.? -Bob Ehrlich A new DTC study is being proposed by FDA. (see FDA study here) This one is to doctors and other health care providers called ?physician extenders? by FDA. Of course we know then as nurses and physician assistants […]

Disease State or Branded Ads? Not a Simple Choice. ? ?…Seriously consider non-branded ads…? -Bob Ehrlich When does it make sense not to do a branded ad and instead focus on category building? This choice is faced by every new drug in the launch stage. Obviously for the 5th me-too in a category, branded is […]

The New Year Prognosis ? ?2012 will be a decision year for the type of health care we get in America -Bob Ehrlich I am happy to be back writing in 2012 after a two week hiatus and hope all of you had a nice holiday season. I?ll start the year giving my thoughts on […]

What Did They Say? Are They Serious? ? ?We need profit-making drug entities to do the development work and have success.? -Bob Ehrlich In my continued defense of outrageous comments from critics, I have found my number one offender for 2011. This one comes from a blog from the New America Foundation, a think tank […]

Spending Up So Far ? ?The DTC market is stable.? -Bob Ehrlich Nielsen spending numbers for nine months in 2011 show a nice result for media companies. Spending is up 3.2% and I expect it to be in that range for the entire year. The total is just over 3 billion so far. That does […]