Sales & Marketing

Talk to MDs in their language and build a better brand

What Big Pharma needs to learn-and value-about this rapidly growing US demographic

A new study looks at the movement of thought leaders and medical science liaisons from primarily marketing to other areas of the pharma company. Though the shift might be minor (7 percent since 2002), it might be a sign of things to come.

Now that Apple has opened its iPhone to third-party software developers, healthcare productivity programs are leading the charge. Here?s a preview of one of the frontrunners.

Pharma is still having a hard time earning the confidence of the key opinion elite, as only 56 percent claim they trust the industry.

Johnson & Johnson's biologics division launches a new blog in an effort to release easy-to-digest health information and corporate news.

A Kaiser Foundation study finds that although most Americans look favorably upon pharmaceuticals, they generally think drugs are too expensive and that most of the cost is blown on advertising.

Industry insiders explain how pharma companies are reorganizing their salesforces in the wake of industry-wide layoffs

New research points to the power of a highly educated sales force, supporting the case for a voluntary educational standard

Pharm Exec shines the spotlight on the creative innovators behind the best pharmaceutical ads of 2007

Why Big Pharma can no longer afford to treat patient adherence programs as an afterthought

Defending your brand through search optimization

IAG Research released its top-10 list of most-recalled new pharma ads of 2007. Many familiar faces top the list, including the Nasonex bee, Abe Lincoln, and Dr. Jarvik, but how many of those faces will still be there next year?

Avenue A|Razorfish's new digital-outlook report indicates that pharma is still floundering online. Though some pharma companies are taking steps to make their online presence known, others are still crawling.

Under pressure from Congress and public scrutiny, Pfizer voluntarily pulled its controversial television campaign for Lipitor featuring Dr. Jarvik.

Pfizer's consumer ads for Lipitor are causing a stir on the blogs and in Congress. Did the company cross the line by using a famous (but unlicensed) doctor to market a drug, or is this a case of a mistaken identity?

Focused on brand integration, Area 23 launched last week with a handful of major pharma companies and a ton of ideas. The key goal--create better campaigns through stronger branding.

More and more consumers are surfing the Web for information about prescription drugs, but many bypass brand.com sites, a new report says.

Lilly is in the midst of settlement discussions with federal prosecutors over the pharma company?s off-label marketing of the antipsychotic medication Zyprexa. If settled, Lilly could be shelling out more than $1 billion in fines.

Merck is under investigation for allegedly pushing physicians to prescribe Vioxx for unapproved use. Federal investigators are scrutinizing Merck?s marketing and sales practices in search of shady business tactics.

With sales forces shrinking, how does the industry combine new technologies with old-fashioned face time to maximize sales?

A black-box warning needn't spell doom for your product. Here's how to take the good with the bad and end up on top.

With Chantix, Pfizer combined inspired drug design with innovative customer-focused marketing to make the first real medical assault on nicotine addiction.

Can pharma take its talent-and its earning potential-to the next level with employee education?

Novartis and Cadient served up a very successful unbranded campaign on YouTube. Pharma should take note of this Web 2.0 victory.

After watching similar legislation barring data mining for Rx info get shut down in Maine and New Hampshire, Vermont changes tactics and amends its law.

Unlike Vioxx, Vytorin works exactly as explained in its now-famous food-and-family ads. So why are people up in arms against the drug? Experts ponder what went wrong.

In a surprising but not completely unexpected move, FDA announced last week that its Prescription Drug User Fee Act was dead on arrival. Feds cite lack of funding as main reason.

Sales representatives will now need a license to sell their wares, according to new legislation approved last week in DC. The new law creates a list of zero-tolerance regulations, but experts wonder whether they will do anything to improve sales rep/physician relationships.

New report finds that neither sales reps nor patient requests are the deciding factor when it comes to physician prescribing habits, information is-the more the better.