The long awaited?FDA draft guidance on social media?is probably not what many in the industry wanted. It does not make doing social media easier or provide more options to creatively use new media. It essentially is a guide to what content a drug company is responsible for and when it is not responsible. It is […]
Author Archive | Bob Ehrlich
By Bob Ehrlich
January 10, 2014
The End of a Great Publication
Most of you know that?Med Ad News?has ceased publication, along with web properties PharmaLive and Pharmalot.?Med Ad News?had become thinner and thinner lately indicating slim ad sales. There is no doubt that printed magazines are hurting in general. The decision to end PharmaLive and Pharmalot also indicate it is hard to make money on content […]
By Bob Ehrlich
December 23, 2013
The Same Criticisms about DTC 16 years Later
I was reviewing some opinion pieces on The New York Times web site about DTC from 12/15/13. The section was titled Developing Cures or Hyping Up Demand. A number of industry critics gave their views, mostly negative. The usual reasons were given for the anti-DTC stance: DTC creates demand for drugs that are not needed. […]
By Bob Ehrlich
December 9, 2013
Obamacare's Unintented Consquence: The Rise of Consumer Information
Despite the flattening of DTC spending in the past few years, there is a tidal wave of DTC opportunities coming for health marketers. I will broaden the definition of DTC to beyond drugs and devices and include health services which include health providers, clinics, and diagnostics. What people are realizing about Obamacare is that cost […]
By Bob Ehrlich
November 25, 2013
What Obamacare Means for Big Pharma
Big Pharma agreed to support Obamacare with significant price subsidies for consumers. They assumed that giving this support would be offset by new customers through expanded access to coverage. They also got assurances that Medicare would not negotiate drug prices directly. The mess that is Obamacare may not work out the way the drug makers […]
By Bob Ehrlich
November 12, 2013
Obamacare Means Opportunity in DTC
When one cuts through the early problems of Obamacare implementation, it is clear that there are many opportunities for DTC advertisers now and in the future. Implementation issues aside, we can expect millions of Americans to be added to the insured roles. That means more people will be getting drug reimbursement and more taking drugs […]
By Bob Ehrlich
October 11, 2013
DTC Spending Stable in 2013
Based on first half?spending,?DTC?advertisers seem to be?spending?about the same as the first half of 2012. Kantar Media reports?spending?was $1.8 billion versus $1.7 a year ago. After a very weak 2012 with double digit declines, it looks like?2013?will not see negative numbers. The reasons for stabilization are new brands doing heavy?DTC. Toviaz and Xarelto were new […]
By Bob Ehrlich
October 8, 2013
Obamacare, Being Fair
I cannot resist commenting on the official launch of Obamacare exchanges. I tried to access the Florida exchange, which is run by the Feds as it is in 36 states. I could not get past the application because it required I answer the security questions which did not exist to answer. I will accept that […]
By Bob Ehrlich
September 20, 2013
Google Calico
?Google is a force that will…try to take quantum leaps.? -Bob Ehrlich DTC in Perspective:? Calico Google shook up the health world with its announcement that they are starting a health care discovery company called Calico. The company will focus on health problems associated with aging which pretty much means everything we might suffer from […]
By Bob Ehrlich
September 9, 2013
Drug Coupons Impact Study
An interesting?study on drug coupons?was released in The New England Journal of Medicine on 8/28. These coupons are used for brand name drugs to help subsidize cost for consumers. These coupons usually are for a limited period of a few months to a year. The study authors wanted to determine what drugs were doing these […]
