Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1980

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: Journal Article

Moynihan R.
Drug firms hype disease as sales ploy, industry chief claims.
BMJ 2002 Apr 13; 324:(7342):867
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/324/7342/867

Abstract:

A senior pharmaceutical company executive, Fred Nadjarian, managing director of Roche Australia, says estimates of the prevalence of diseases are often exaggerated by the industry. This admission comes as the industry is pressuring to loosen European regulations on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). In the late 1990s, Roche planned to market its antidepressant moclobemide for treatment of social phobia, but was unable to recruit clinical trial participants. Nadjarian commented that a lot of these things are blown out of all proportion. His comments add weight to fears that drug companies may be systematically exaggerating to build markets for new drugs. Nadjarian added that other people such as professors may also have vested interests in exaggerating estimates of disease prevalence, to attract attention to their research.

Keywords:
Commerce Drug Industry* Epidemiology* Humans Phobic Disorders/drug therapy Phobic Disorders/epidemiology Prevalence *news story Australia Europe DTCA direct-to-consumer advertising Roche social phobia exaggeration of prevalence PROMOTION DISGUISED: CLINICAL TRIALS PROMOTION IN SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC AREA: PSYCHIATRIC DISEASES PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING