Who do you trust?

Feb/16/2008 08:30 Filed in: HCP Marketing
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You would think that with all that is happening with pharma right now that the FDA would want to tighten regulation on marketing to HCP's. Well, new guidelines proposed by the FDA would allow pharma companies to distribute certain journal articles on off label uses for prescription medications. If this isn't a step towards abuse by pharma salespeople I don't know what is.



Can you imagine the scenario: a sales rep comes into a physicians office hands the doctor some peer reviewed journal articles on off label uses for the companies medications and then says "I thought you might want to read these, however I can't talk about them" ? So far in the last year we have seen reps saying that their sales managers told them to get patient information from doctors so that they could market directly to them and we are learning that statins, the so called wonder drugs, may be linked to depression and other mental disorders. Now the FDA wants to allow pharma companies to distribute articles that discuss off label use of drugs? This is a snare that eventually is going to cost the pharma industry a lot more credibility.


Why in God's name does the pharmaceutical industry always try an end run around regulatory guidelines? Most of the guidelines were established because the pharma industry has a track record of not being able to regulate itself and hiding behind thick walls. They have not learned about transparency and continue to ignore ways to get closer to their customers. This proposal by the FDA is flawed because it opens the door to abuse by over zealous sales managers and salespeople. Why not have a symposium to talk about off label use of products? Why do clinical trials which could cost millions of dollars we'll just develop a marketing program for off label use?


I don't agree with Senator Waxman on a lot of things but he is spot on when he says that this is dangerous ground. Given the missteps by the pharma industry over the last decade I don't see any reason why anyone would allow pharma reps to hand out reprints of journal articles on off label use of prescription medications. This is just a bad idea spread by lobbyists who have lots of money from pharma to spread around.
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