Spending on Prescription Drug Advertising Increases by 9% in First Half of 2006
Pharmaceutical companies increased spending on advertisements by 9% in the first half of 2006, an indication that they "no longer feel constrained" by criticism that their "splashy campaigns minimized medicines' risks" after the September 2004 withdrawal of the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx, AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
According to TNS Media Intelligence, pharmaceutical companies spent $2.46 billion in the first half of 2006, compared with $2.26 billion a year earlier, as companies increased spending on magazine ads and ads to promote their images and disease management programs. Magazine ads accounted for 34% of pharmaceutical company spending on ads, compared with 29% a year earlier, and television ads accounted for 59%, compared with 64% a year earlier.
TNS Research Director Jon Swallen said that pharmaceutical companies increased spending on magazine ads because such ads cause fewer problems with compliance with new voluntary guidelines recently adopted by the industry. The guidelines require pharmaceutical companies to improve accuracy and balance of information about the benefits and side effects of medications.
In addition, many new ads include physicians who directly discuss the side effects of medications (Agovino, AP/Long Island Newsday, 10/5).