Is there too much risk in transparency?

Dec/17/2007 06:41 Filed in: Pharma Business
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A little while back I was listening to Howard Stern on the radio talk about prescription drugs. He brought up a great point when he said "who knows what these new drugs do to you with long term use". It got me thinking about transparency and risk. Is there too much risk for pharma to be transparent? People who call for more transparency, like me, would say no but the reality is that data can be read many different ways and there are a lot of people who will always see the glass half empty.



The FDA is now requiring a lot more data from pharma when they submit their NDA's. This means more clinical trials and a lot more data but the problem is that data can be subjective as well as objective. Is there too much risk in releasing data that most people would not understand ? I have to believe that the answer to that is no, not if the data is released in a way that is easy to understand. Pharma does a great job of hiding behind the data and keeping data that is open to interpretation behind closed doors. We rely on our doctors to tell us what works and what doesn't work but the truth is that today physicians are overwhelmed with data and information and are turning more and more to each other for help.


Pharma has not done a great job working with physicians to get straight talk to patients. This is why so many patients turn to the web and visit so many different websites. Pharma salespeople today are programmed to deliver samples and tissue boxes but not to engage the physician in a meaningful dialogue. Data is hidden or held back with only good endpoints promoted. People look at product labels only to be confused by the small type and double talk. I mean who the hell has the time to read a package label today?


If pharma is going to take a more transparent approach to marketing products one thing is clear: it has to come from the top of the organization and be more than words. People cannot be afraid to speak up at every level of the reporting structure and everyone needs a voice. DTC marketers need to know that they have a responsibility to their customers that should measure everything they do.


Gaining trust is not easy and it takes time but if pharma continues its missteps then that trust will never be at a level that will lead to transparency for pharma and maybe they want it that way.
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