On Monday, a handful of Big Pharma companies told Congress that they would put a six-month moratorium on drug ads for recently approved medication. Pfizer, Merck, Schering-Plough, and Johnson & Johnson also agreed to closely follow the American Medical Association's guidelines when using actors playing physicians in advertisements.

Pharma's olive branch to Congress, however, might not be enough to satisfy legislators looking for major pharma advertising reform. The Committee on Energy and Commerce's litany of demands, sent in late May, asked that pharma refrain from marketing off-label products, not market products until outcomes studies are released, add black box warning in DTC ads, and include the FDA MedWatch phone number on all advertisements. Although each pharma company responded to the requests, none bowed down to all the demands.

The four firms were also asked to consider holding new drug ads for two years, a request that has been advocated by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) for years now, but has been rejected repeatedly.

"Although we appreciate the drug companies' willingness to change some of their business practices, they have not agreed to all of our requests, which would protect consumers from misleading and deceptive advertising," stated Bart Stupak (D-MI), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee in a release.

Stupak and Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI) brought the companies in question to task for public concerns related to ads, including 

, Merck and Schering Plough's food and family campaign for 

, and J&J's Procrit ads. The former two ads have since been pulled from television.

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News Analysis

Pharma to Sit on DTC Ads

The American Medical Association announced at its annual meeting on Monday that it would hold off on its plan to ban pharma companies from financing medical education programs until more research is completed.

The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs introduced the proposed policy guidelines on Saturday for discussion and comment. On Monday, the AMA's House of Delegates voted to refer the proposal back to the counsel for further review and refinement of the recommendations.

One of the issues that came through loud and clear was the need for the report to clarify promotional education versus accredited continuing education.

Individual physicians and institutions of medicine must not accept industry funding to support professional education activities.

Medical schools and teaching hospitals must limit industry marketing and promotional activities on their campuses.

Medical professionals must work together to identify the most effective modes of instruction and evaluation for physician learners.

There was discussion about the burden of cost for providing CME and the current industry support. Industry currently covers about 50 percent of the $1 billion spent each year on continuing education. The group was also asked to consider what alternative source of funding could be found to limit the impact on the amount of CME available if industry support was eliminated.

The recommendations in the report run the gamut of medical education, and include rules against promotional as well as accredited educational programs.

"[The proposed rules] were not killed so that they would go away; they were only referred back for further refinements and recommendations and a chance for us to listen to the comments that were provided and to take them under consideration," said Rebecca Patchin, a trustee at AMA.

It's anticipated that the proposal will return for review by next year's meeting.

The American Medical Association's proposal to keep pharma from funding CME programs was put on hold for further review. But don?t expect the plan to disappear for good.

Pharmaceutical Executive-06-18-2008

Pharma to Sit on DTC Ads

AMA Tables Plan to Ban CME Funding