pharma

For the pharmaceutical industry, most have
focused on the crisis of the patent cliffhanger: the loss of more than $30 billion in revenue due to patent expiration of prescription drugs once dubbed “blockbusters.”

However, a greater crisis awaits - one that impacts not only a company’s bottom-line, but also a pharmaceutical company’s greatest asset: its corporate reputation. Companies must brace themselves to handle the industry’s role in combating the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

While most major causes of preventable death are declining, drug overdoses are an exception. And, opioids seem to bear the brunt of the blame. A 2011 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that most drug-related deaths were not the result of illicit drugs, such as heroin or cocaine, but instead were the result of prescription pain medicines, mainly opioids.  Inappropriate use of opioids caused nearly 342,000 emergency department visits in 2009, according to government figures. The drugs were blamed for 16,000 deaths that year, up from 14,800 in 2008. Read full post »

While it falls short of the comprehensive guidance
on social media that many were hoping for, the FDA’s new document on responding to unsolicited requests does have an interest and relevance for those working in healthcare communications on the other side of the Atlantic.

Of course, no digital project is completely ‘local’ and Europeans should always have half an eye on developments elsewhere in the world. More importantly though, the FDA has given us a useful clue to what regulators are thinking and the issues they face in coming up with clear rules for the rapidly evolving environment of the web and social media. It could also set the tone for European guidance, if and when it appears.

The most significant aspect of the FDA’s new document is that: Read full post »

It seems simple enough and a logical first step to
planning anything but so many times, across multiple disciplines, we hear:

“We need a Facebook page.”

“We need to have a blog.”

“We need to be Tweeting.”

But why? At a recent social media conference, specifically in the Pharma space, the question and principle came up multiple times… we need to start by asking a few simple questions. What are we trying to accomplish? Reaching who? What then are we going to do with the information? Why do we need to be in the social media space?

One can’t deny that online vehicles are growing rapidly, exponentially expanding, and that social media channels are just too large a communication vehicle to ignore. Even so, there has to be the right fit between what a company wants to accomplish online and the vehicles through which it achieves those goals. And it seems that sometimes those key questions haven’t been answered, and the result is an inappropriate or useless execution that simply checks a box. Read full post »

The days of looking up contact information in the
yellow pages has become obsolete. These days we take to the Internet to find out information about whom to contact, and expect to find it quickly and easily. If you were a new visitor to your company’s site would you be able to find the best person to answer your question quickly and easily? If you’re not sure, go take a look.

The Basics of Handling Unsolicited  Inquiries – Off-Label

The FDA understands customers will contact your company requesting information about off-label uses for prescription drugs or medical devices. The question is not if you should handle it but rather, how you should handle it. The answer is good customer service.

Research and online behavioral analysis (Nielsen Norman Group) show time and time again the majority of people prefer the ability to contact a real live individual over a generic contact form or email address. Read full post »

According to Wikipedia, Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) is described as “embracing responsibility and encouraging a positive impact through a company’s activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.” Perhaps we should reconsider this description and think of those words as they relate to Pharma in the online/social media space.

During a recent conference on the social/digital space, there were many examples of how Pharma can engage online. But, even with the positive examples given at the conference, our day-to-day experience can paint a different picture. Stung by warnings and violation letters, the Pharma world is very cautious of talking about their company, let alone a product, in the social media space. Read full post »