PhRMA Intern Retrospective: Drug News Stories

Principle #14 of the final version of PhRMA’s Guiding Principles on Direct to Consumer Advertising about Prescription Medicines, which applies to both TV and print DTC ads, states in part: "DTC television and print advertising should be designed to achieve a balanced presentation of both the benefits and the risks associated with the advertised prescription medicine. Specifically, risks and safety information, including the substance of relevant boxed warnings, should be presented with reasonably comparable prominence to the benefit information, in a clear, conspicuous and neutral manner, and without distraction from the content." Most drug stories reported in the press or on TV are based on press releases prepared by the PR agency that represents the pharma company that markets the drug. There are no PhRMA guidelines for drug press releases although they are regulated by the FDA and should include fair balance to comply with FDA regulations. Reporters, however, do not have to include that information in articles they write based on information in press releases. Back in 2006, when PhRMA Intern was active, she noticed an ad that she thought violated Principle #14. Here's the story... PhRMA Intern Episode 4: Drug News Stories from PharmaGuy.com Should the pharmaceutical industry develop voluntary guidelines for PR to parallel the guidelines it has developed for DTC advertising? See survey results below...Read more »
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: PhRMA PhRMA Guidelines PhRMA Intern press relations Source Type: blogs