Spending on direct to consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising will climb to at least $1.3 billion in 1998, an increase of more than 50 percent, according to IMS Health, a market research firm in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
Spending is expected to increase during the next few years as pharmaceutical manufacturers continue to experiment with this relatively new mass reach marketing opportunity, says Kelly Peters, IMS's DTC marketing manager.
But physician reaction will continue to be lukewarm even though the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) gave pharmaceutical manufacturers permission to use TV advertising, says Peters. "Physicians are viewing [DTC ads] as one of the factors that are causing them to lose [prescription] control."
Sixty-five percent of physicians surveyed would prefer less DTC advertising or a discontinuation altogether, up from 61 percent last year.
The interim national survey, conducted by IMS and Physicians Online, is based on responses from 2,000 physicians. In September, IMS will release complete study findings involving 4,800 physicians.
Other survey findings include an assessment of the effect of DTC advertising on magazine spending and managed care:
- The DTC promotional mix is shifting toward increased TV spending. In 1996, magazines comprised 81 percent of the mix, while only 11.4 percent was spent on TV. By the beginning of 1998, magazine expenditures dropped to 40 percent of the total, with TV jumping to 50 percent.
- A quarter of the physicians surveyed say they are getting specific directions from managed care programs against prescribing non-covered brands, in response to the increase in patient requests for brand name drugs.
These guidelines provide lists of brand name drugs and their lower-cost generic alternatives.
(IMS Health, Kelly Peters, 610/834-5338; Pharmacy Gold, Richard Waltermire 615/456-5575; Campaign for Fair Pharmaceutical Competition, Milan Puskar, 800/200-2339)
DTC Backlash
Since IMS released its results, DTC marketing is catching some heat on two industry fronts-generic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical research.
Last week, the "Campaign for Fair Pharmaceutical Competition" launched an initiative to provide consumer education on generic pharmaceuticals and brand name manufacturers' efforts to keep them off the market.
The campaign, spearheaded by Washington, D.C.-based Mylan Laboratories, a generic pharmaceutical company, will educate the public on the brand industry's "anti-competitive" tactics. In addition to consumers, it is targeting policy-makers, the media and health advocates.
And Pharmacy Gold, a St. Paul, Minn.-based health benefit management services firm, is challenging the FDA and pharmaceutical companies on the safety of DTC advertising.
Richard Waltermire, PG's senior VP, blasted the TV advertising at an industry conference in Washington, D.C., last week for placing minimal focus on potential drug side effects and raising unrealistic consumer expectations about their "future quality of life" after using aparticular drug.
Source: HPRMN