Pharmaguy is a PharmaStar in Italy!
PharmaStar, which is an Italian on-line newspaper devoted entirely to the world of medicine, recently published a story tiled "Roche Pharma Italia conquista premio internazionale per l'innovazione digital" (Roche Pharma Italy wins international award for digital innovation). The "coveted international award" PharmaStar is talking about is the 4th Annual Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award I presented to the Roche Digital Academy team on Oct 15, 2013 (read "Davide Bottalico and the Roche Digital Academy Team Receive the 4th Annual Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award!"). PharmaStar TV also...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - November 11, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Digital Pharma Pharmaguy social media award Roche Source Type: blogs
Social Media Listening by Pharma: Do the Ends Justify the Means?
This morning, I read with interest "The Value of Social Media Listening" by Alexandra Fulford, a ZS Business Consultant based in Zurich, Switzerland,Alex focused on the "value in listening and doing research to identify the following elements" (click on image for enlarged view):I soon realized, however that something was missing.Read more » (Source: Pharma Marketing Blog)
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - November 7, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: listening patient-centricity social media UCB Source Type: blogs
Pharmaguy Steps Out on His Own
Today, Pharmaguy officially announced his "new" position as Chief Pundit at Pharmaguy.com. Like many other innovators in the pharmaceutical industry, pharmaguy -- working under the pseudonym "John Mack" -- has toiled under a corporate overlord. In Pharmaguy's case, that corporate entity was VirSci Corporation DBA Pharma Marketing Network, which owns and operates Pharma Marketing News."Finally, I am able to reveal my true identity and put some distance between myself and John Mack, President of Pharma Marketing Network and Publisher of Pharma Marketing News," said Pharmaguy in an interview ...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - November 5, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Source Type: blogs
J&J Joins the DOJ v Pharma Settlement Planetary System
The Department of Justice (DOJ) just updated its commemorative poster highlighting the now seven highest multi-million/billion dollar settlements that drug companies have agreed to pay for inappropriately, and in some cases illegally, promoting prescription drugs.The latest addition to the poster is Johnson and Johnson, which will pay $2.2 billion to the U.S. government to end civil and criminal investigations into kickbacks to pharmacists and the marketing of pharmaceuticals for off-label uses. According to an NBC News story (here), "The settlement with the company and its subsidiaries covers the marketing of schizop...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - November 4, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: DOJ off-label promotion Source Type: blogs
My FDAdar Just Lit Up! Will This FDA Study Lead to Guidance on Advertising to Teens Online?
For nearly 4 years now, we pharma marketing aficionados and FDA watchers have been anxiously awaiting the promised guidelines on regulating pharmaceutical promotions on the Internet and social media. Most of us believe we will never see these guidelines in our lifetimes (see here).My "FDAdar" was aroused, therefore, when I read a Bloomberg story (here) that bluntly stated "[A proposed FDA study of teens and direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising] will help determine whether some drugs may require more care when advertising online [my emphasis], the FDA said."I searched the document announcing this study ...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 31, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: DTC Advertising eMarketing FDA Internet Regulation Source Type: blogs
If Only I Could Download This Pharma Mobile Health App, I Would Be Able to Judge Its Functionality Score!
This report includes an analysis of a subset of the 40,000+ healthcare apps available for download from the U.S. Apple iTunes app store and an assessment of the potential value they provide throughout a patient's journey. "An assessment finds that healthcare apps available today have both limited and simple functionality," say the authors of the report. "The majority do little more than provide information."Each app was given a "functionality score" based on 25 criteria, which include the type and quantity of information provided by the app, how the app tracks or captures user data, etc. S...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 31, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Apps BMS HepB Mobile Source Type: blogs
Is Pharma "Gamification" Dead in the Water?
"Gamification" was a buzz word flitting around pharma circles (but not Google+ circles) a year or two ago. As an example, everyone I know in Pharma Twitterdom was enamored by the launch of Boehringer Ingelheim's SYRUM FaceBook game, launched in September, 2012, but ONLY to European users (see here and here).We here in the U.S. -- BI's largest market -- are still waiting for SYRUM. BI's John Pugh -- Director of Digital Communications and the developer of SYRUM -- promised it would be launched in the U.S. sometime in 2013. There's still a chance of this happening, I suppose. But I would very sur...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 30, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Boehringer Ingelheim FaceBook gamification Source Type: blogs
FDA's BadAd CE Program: There Should Be An App for This!
I just completed FDA's BadAd online course for healthcare professionals who can earn CE credits while learning how to identify potentially untruthful or misleading drug ads and promotional materials. The course is offered through Medscape here.Although I don't get any CE credits -- I only pretend to be a doctor on Medscape -- I did get a nice Certificate of Completion at the end of the course (click on it for an enlarged view).I have written about FDA's BadAd program previously (read FDA's Bad Ad Program is "Phoniest Thing Ever!", Pharmaguy Alerts FDA About BadAd Technical "Glitch", and ...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 29, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: BadAd DTC Advertising FDA Legal/Regulatory Source Type: blogs
Just As I Suspected: Pharma Companies Set Up Google+ Ghost Towns
Eye On FDA's Mark Senak is keeping tabs on pharma's social media assets, including activity in Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Google+. With regard to Google+, Senak notes that there are 79 Google+ pages in his database that are sponsored by pharma companies. "Of these," says Senak, "a whopping 31 ... have no followers at all."Not only that, engagement in Google+ by pharma is low says Senak: "Removing the Inactive and Rare Updates leaves only 25 pharma sponsored pages. Pulling out only those pages that update Daily or Weekly leaves only 8 pages, while daily leaves only 5. By contrast, of the 123 Facebook pages...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 29, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Google social media Source Type: blogs
FDA's Expedited Approval of Drugs is Based on Trials of 104 Patients vs. 580 Patients for Non-Expedited Approvals
According to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, 80% fewer patients were studied as part of expedited reviews of new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Not only that, but many of the required postmarketing studies of these drugs were not completed after 4 years! Here's the relevant section of the press release: Thomas J. Moore, A.B., of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, Alexandria, Va., and Curt D. Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., of the Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C., examined development times, clinical testing, post-market follow-up and safety risks for the n...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 28, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Drug Approval Drug Safety FDA trust Source Type: blogs
Pharma Twitter Pioneers: A Snapshot
Like many Twitter users, I organize people I follow into different lists. One of my lists is comprised of people -- primarily marketing people -- who currently work within pharmaceutical companies. I call this list, which currently has about 144 members, "Pharma Twitter Pioneers." You can access this list via Twitter here.Most of the members of this list are pharmaceutical marketing Managers, Directors, and VPs. They are "pioneers" because so few of their brethren have Twitter accounts. In fact, I know of no pharma company CEO who has a twitter account. And that could be a sign of a problem that was no...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 28, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: social media Twiitter Pharma Twitter Pioneers Source Type: blogs
"Not everything which is technically doable should be done."
That is a quote from German chancellor, Angela Merkel, published in a NY Times story about NSA's spying on Ms Merkel's cell phone calls (see "Anger Growing Among Allies on U.S. Spying"). I think this is good advice for the pharmaceutical industry, which is currently monitoring social media conversations, smartphone keystrokes, physical location, and electronic medical records (EMRs) of patients and perhaps even physicians without their permission or knowledge.The pharmaceutical industry may not be emulating NSA by tapping directly into phone calls, but it has the capability to monitor and record ALL keyst...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 24, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Big Data iPad multichannel marketing Sales and Sales Reps Sales Force Effectiveness Source Type: blogs
Even Though Pharma Online Patient Support Campaigns Are Not Perfect, Patient Activists Bestow Honors Upon Them
The winners of the first Community Choice Awards, organized by WEGO Health, ExL Pharma, and the Digital Health Coalition, were announced last Friday (18 October 2013) at the Digital Pharma East Conference in Philadelphia."The event recognized healthcare organizations, teams, and individuals that have developed a unique offering and provide tangible value to their online patient communities," says WEGO Health in a press release. The awards consisted of seven categories: Best Unbranded Campaign, Best Branded Campaign, Best Non-Profit Partner, Company of the Year, Best Mobile Health App, Best Corporate Campaign, and Community...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 21, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Awards WEGO Gilenya patient support Merck Adverse events Twitter side effects Novartis Source Type: blogs
Does Pharma Marketing Blog Need a Makeover?
(Source: Pharma Marketing Blog)
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 18, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Source Type: blogs
Davide Bottalico and the Roche Digital Academy Team Receive the 4th Annual Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award!
October 15, 2013, Philadelphia, PA: Today, at the end of Digital Pharma East's Mobile Day, Pharmaguy (aka John Mack) presented the 4th Annual Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award to the Roche (Italy) Digital Academy Team and its leader Davide Bottalico, MD, Digital Marketing Manager. Denis Dina, Digital Strategic Planner at Roche, accepted the award on behalf of the team.The Roche Digital Academy Team members are identified in the following photo:Due to personal reasons, Davide could not make it to Philadelphia to accept the award himself, but he and the rest of the team will formally accept the award via live webcast tomo...
Source: Pharma Marketing Blog - October 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Tags: Pharmaguy social media award Source Type: blogs
