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 […]
By Bob Ehrlich
August 30, 2013
Obamacare Revisited
Obamacare Revisited ?Government does not have a track record of success…? -Bob Ehrlich It has been a long time since I commented on Obamacare. I want to revisit where I stand on it as Ihave been mixed in my past comments. I support most of its main goals. No one in America should be financially […]
By Bob Ehrlich
August 9, 2013
23 and Me, DTC and You
23 and Me, DTC and You ?The upbeat ad is very well done…? -Bob Ehrlich Genetic testing company 23andMe started a $5 million DTC campaign recently done by agency Arnold New York. While the budget is modest by DTC brand standards, the advertising is extremely important. It shows the next generation of a lot of […]
By Bob Ehrlich
August 2, 2013
New Study Links DTC and Increased Statin Use
New Study Links DTC and Increased Statin Use ?Society makes an economic and risk/reward decision on all such preventive care.? -Bob Ehrlich A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine concluded that statin DTC ads raised diagnosis of high cholesterol by 16-20% and statin use by 16-22%. The study authors, from Cornell University, […]
By Bob Ehrlich
July 26, 2013
DTC in Perspective: Who Wins Latest Rating Sweeps 18-49?
DTC in Perspective:? Who Wins Latest Rating Sweeps 18-49? ?Giving Hispanic consumers the story in their native language…? Perhaps the above question is better asked in Spanish. Univision won that key demographic in July and for the first time ever it topped the big 4 networks. Univision runs original programming in the summer and that […]
