NEJM -- A Decade of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs

NEJM -- A Decade of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs:

"Results Total spending on pharmaceutical promotion grew from $11.4 billion in 1996 to $29.9 billion in 2005. Although during that time spending on direct-to-consumer advertising increased by 330%, it made up only 14% of total promotional expenditures in 2005. Direct-to-consumer campaigns generally begin within a year after the approval of a product by the FDA. In the context of regulatory changes requiring legal review before issuing letters, the number of letters sent by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers regarding violations of drug-advertising regulations fell from 142 in 1997 to only 21 in 2006. "

From the discussion:

"Our study has some key limitations. We obtained data on industry sales from PhRMA, which includes in its annual reports sales data only for its members. Ideally, we would include sales of all branded drugs sold by prescription, including pharmaceutical and biologic agents, and exclude sales of generic drugs (because generic drugs typically are not promoted). PhRMA sales data may include some generic sales (if a member reports both branded and generic sales) and typically exclude sales of biologic agents, which are manufactured by companies that belong to another trade group (Biotechnology Industry Organization). As a result, the sales figures may underestimate total dollar sales for the industry. We provide data on spending on free samples valued at their approximate retail price, which is how they typically are valued in industry promotional audits. Thus, the value of free samples we present probably overstates the opportunity cost to manufacturers, which would lie somewhere between the marginal cost of production and the retail value."

A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking serious money...

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