Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17601

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

George J
As FDA debates social media rules, pharma isn’t waiting
Philadelphia Business Journal 2010 Apr 7
http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2010/04/05/focus1.html

Full text:

Local pharmaceutical firms have embraced blogging, tweeting and making friends on Facebook even though federal guidelines regulating those activities are evolving.
“Pharmaceutical companies are in it because they realize how pervasive it is,” said Bill Trombetta, a professor of pharmaceutical marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “This is how we all communicate now.”
Social media initiatives now account for about 5 percent of drug companies’ total promotional spending, Trombetta said.
As social networking becomes more popular with the industry, the FDA has grown concerned that social media activities may encourage false claims and misleading advertising. While regulators deliberate, drug companies struggle with how to engage the public without divulging impermissable information about their products.