Direct-to-Consumer Drug Ads Booming Despite Criticisms

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) — Drug company spending on
direct-to-consumer advertising continues to skyrocket, even as criticisms
against it have soared.

Calling for a moratorium, rather than just restrictions, on such
advertising might be in order, say the authors of a study in the Aug. 16
issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Direct-to-consumer advertising spending is increasing in terms of its
share of total marketing budget, but it&39;s been 10 years since the FDA clarified its policy with respect to
broadcast advertising and unleashed direct-to-consumer advertising on
television, which was new,” Donohue said. “We wanted to see, in the wake
of the Vioxx withdrawal and an increased focus on the safety of drugs and
a focus on drug costs in light of the implementation of the new Medicare
drug benefit, what industry and the FDA were doing with respect to
advertising.”

For this analysis, Donohue and her colleagues looked at citrate generic sildenafil viagra
company spending on direct-to-consumer advertising and promotion to
physicians over the past decade.

Total pharmaceutical industry spending on promotion soared from $11.4
billion in 1996 to almost $30 billion in 2005. During that time, spending
on direct-to-consumer advertising increased by 330 percent, yet this type
of advertising only made up 14 percent of total promotional
expenditures.

These mass-media advertising blitzes generally start before a drug&39;detailing&39;s monitoring of drug
advertising has not kept pace with the volume of advertising of
prescription drugs. The number of warning letters going out to drug
companies has decreased markedly [from 142 in 1997 to 21 in 2006], and the
number of FDA staff responsible for ads was relatively flat in recent
years, in spite of spending increases.”

It may be that the rules themselves are sufficient, but that
enforcement powers are not.

“My view is that the advertising regulations that are on the book now
are adequate. Prescription drug ads are among the most heavily regulated
advertisements if you look at all other consumer products,” Donohue said.
“But the enforcement of the regulations needs to be there as well, and
resources necessary for reviewing advertisements need to be adequate.”

“And drug manufacturers do not have to have FDA approval of
advertisements before airing them, so an ad campaign can run its course
before the FDA is able to review the ads,” she added.

In response to the study, Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), said in a
statement: “DTC advertising has been shown to play a key role in educating
and empowering patients, improving patient understanding of disease and
available treatments, and fostering strong relationships between patients
and their health-care providers. Unfortunately, the study published today
in the New England Journal of Medicine all but overlooks these
important contributions to patient health.”

“Surveys show that DTC advertising brings patients into their doctors&39;s more on the impact of direct-to-consumer advertising at the Kaiser
Family Foundation.