Sales & Marketing

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.

New study finds that risks and side effects don't get their fair share of time in television advertising. The authors cry out for more educational information in DTC ads--but is it necessary if the ads aren't breaking the law?

We asked seven industry experts to talk about today's best (and worst) pharma icons

Welcome to the new employer's market for reps. The Hay Group's annual survey reports how, as the primary sales force contracts, so too does its pay.

GlaxoSmithKline locks up MediaCom as its only ad-buying/planning provider. The agency will handle GSK's massive ad spend, which last year hovered around $1.1 billion.

Drug manufacturer shakes things up with new Web site that functions as an open book into the world of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The company hopes that its transparent approach to design will be a lesson to pharma companies still fearful of online media.

There was a large minority of physicians who said they did, in fact, favor a DTC moratorium of some length. So the question is, why didn't it happen?

A physician-oriented search engine reveals its most-searched terms. Among the winners: breast and lung cancer, cortisol, and HbA1c/glycated hemoglobin. Nowhere to be seen: pharmaceutical products.

Top pharma brand experts discuss today's issues: safety, compliance, corporate branding, combatting generics, and more.

With ads on topics ranging from addiction to disease states, this year's Rx Club Award winners connect creativity with emotion

In this age of new media, social networking, blogs, and cyber-clutter, it's easy to forget the appeal of the real-of things that you can hold in your hand and engage with physically. But make no mistake, despite all of the high-tech tools available to us, advertising still relies on evoking an emotional response by tickling the human senses.

The impact of high-quality online training tools would be difficult and costly to replicate offline given the dynamic and interactive aspects offered

Lynn Upshaw posits that marketing with integrity is key to success in these skeptical times. To do so, a company has to live its brand. In his book, Upshaw tells you how.

The ability to review what people are saying about a brand has become a hot topic among pharmaceutical marketers. Managing a brand used to be fairly straightforward, until, of course, the advent of the Internet. Today, the challenge is enormous: blogs, podcasts, micro-blogging, instant messaging, Wikis....

The direct-to-consumer marketing campaign for havidol, a drug for dysphoric social attention consumption deficit anxiety disorder, is drawing lots of public reaction. (but neither the drug nor the disease is real.)