Unbranded advertising of prescription medicines to the public by pharmaceutical companies

Alves, Teresa Meneses Leonardo; Mantel‐Teeuwisse, Aukje K.; Paschke, Anne; Leufkens, Hubert G.M.; Puil, Lorri; Poplavska, Elita; Mintzes, Barbara

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd012699

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Pharmaceutical industry efforts to market opioids to children primarily relied on unbranded campaigns, which sidestep FDA regulations on traditional pharmaceutical advertisements. 27 These campaigns used appeals to authority to influence children’s understanding of pain and opioids, seeking to recruit adults they would be perceive as credible, including coaches and school nurses. Two specific unbranded campaigns, Growing Pains and Smart Moves, Smart Choices , were explicitly developed and launched as a means to market opioids despite being presented to the public as public health campaigns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…24 This advertising has been found to misinform patients about disease causes and prevalence, overemphasise drug benefits, sensationalise natural or trivial conditions, and lead to inappropriate prescribing, 25 26 especially among women. 27 By encouraging patients to seek prescriptions, they can also increase sales for manufacturers. 28 29 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Oklahoma verdict specifically referenced issues with unbranded campaigns, a form of direct-to-consumer marketing that highlights disease awareness and the need to seek medical care but do not reference specific brands and as a result are not subject to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that require a ‘fair balance’ of both positive and negative information in advertising 24. This advertising has been found to misinform patients about disease causes and prevalence, overemphasise drug benefits, sensationalise natural or trivial conditions, and lead to inappropriate prescribing,25 26 especially among women 27. By encouraging patients to seek prescriptions, they can also increase sales for manufacturers 28 29…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Industry strategies to market opioids to children and women in the USA: a content analysis of internal industry documents from 1999 to 2017 released in State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, L.P.et al

2022

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ObjectiveIdentify advertising strategies used to market opioids to women and children.DesignQualitative content analysis of internal pharmaceutical industry documents released in litigation, dated between 1999 and 2017.SettingUSA.ParticipantsOpioid manufacturers (Janssen, Ortho-McNeil, Purdue, Teva (Actavis), Janus, Cephalon); women; children.Primary and secondary outcome measuresAdvertising campaigns, industry executive statements regarding marketing goalsMethodsWe examined ((DATASET) link:https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/drug/) documents released in State of Oklahoma v. Johnson & Johnson (2019) to identify marketing strategies and campaigns developed by opioid manufacturers that focused on children and women, as well as public records, including websites developed by manufacturers and their allies, to confirm whether marketing campaigns proposed in internal industry documents were implemented. Documents identified as relevant were coded for themes based on expectations drawn from previous research on marketing using internal industry documents, which included making emotional appeals and understating the risks of addiction.ResultsWe found that opioid manufacturers sought to recruit coaches and school nurses to encourage opioid use by children, developed unbranded initiatives suggesting adolescents ask providers for pain care medications, suggested that opioid use could reduce health risks associated with untreated pain among women and advocated to policy makers that women faced unmet needs for pain medication.ConclusionsThe USA strictly regulates direct marketing of medications but does not place the same restrictions on indirect marketing and unbranded campaigns, which encourage people to seek treatment without indicating the names of specific products. Opioid manufacturers in the early 21st century appear to have relied largely on unbranded campaigns for marketing, which they described externally as public health promotion and internally as a way to increase sales of opioids. The rapid increase in opioid use concomitant with these campaigns suggests that additional scrutiny of this kind of marketing may be needed in order to protect vulnerable groups.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Industry strategies to market opioids to children and women in the USA: a content analysis of internal industry documents from 1999 to 2017 released in State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, L.P.et al

2022

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“…Studies were analyzed, and the data thus derived were grouped (SMO and IKK; step 2) by means of an iterative process based on the findings of the literature review itself and the model of Mosdøl et al [ 28 ]. This model has previously been used to research the effects of direct-to-consumer advertisements, specifically for prescription medicines [ 29 ]. The data were divided into the following themes: (1) consumer demographics; (2) test quality, validity, and utility; (3) company features; (4) diseases tested for and health aspects; (5) consumer effects; (6) impact on health care; (7) informational content and advertising; (8) ethics; and (9) general and any remaining information about DTC-GTs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy Guidance for Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Services: Framework Development Study

Onstwedder,

Jansen,

Cornel

et al. 2024

J Med Internet Res

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Background The online offer of commercial genetic tests, also called direct-to-consumer genetic tests (DTC-GTs), enables citizens to gain insight into their health and disease risk based on their genetic profiles. DTC-GT offers often consist of a combination of services or aspects, including advertisements, information, DNA analysis, and medical or lifestyle advice. The risks and benefits of DTC-GT services have been debated and studied extensively, but instruments that assess DTC-GT services and aid policy are lacking. This leads to uncertainty among policy makers, law enforcers, and regulators on how to ensure and balance both public safety and autonomy and about the responsibilities these 3 parties have toward the public. Objective This study aimed to develop a framework that outlines aspects of DTC-GTs that lead to policy issues and to help provide policy guidance regarding DTC-GT services. Methods We performed 3 steps: (1) an integrative literature review to identify risks and benefits of DTC-GT services for consumers and society in Embase and Medline (January 2014-June 2022), (2) structuring benefits and risks in different steps of the consumer journey, and (3) development of a checklist for policy guidance. Results Potential risks and benefits of DTC-GT services were mapped from 134 papers and structured into 6 phases. In summary, these phases were called the consumer journey: (1) exposure, (2) pretest information, (3) DNA analysis, (4) data management, (5) posttest information, and (6) individual and societal impact. The checklist for evaluation of DTC-GT services consisted of 8 themes, covering 38 items that may raise policy issues in DTC-GT services. The themes included the following aspects: general service content, validity and quality assurance, potential data and privacy risks, scientific evidence and robustness, and quality of the provided information. Conclusions Both the consumer journey and the checklist break the DTC-GT offer down into key aspects that may impact and compromise individual and public health, safety, and autonomy. This framework helps policy makers, regulators, and law enforcers develop methods to interpret, assess, and act in the DTC-GT service market.

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Patient Influencers: The Next Frontier in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Marketing

Willis¹,

Delbaere²

2022

J Med Internet Res

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Social media influencers are becoming an increasingly popular strategic communication tactic used across industry verticals, including entertainment, fashion, and beauty, to engage directly with consumers. Pharmaceutical companies have also recently entered the social media marketing arena and—within the bounds of governmental regulations—have found ways to build relationships directly with patients using covert persuasion tactics like partnering with social media influencers. Due to consumers’ negative perceptions of pharmaceutical companies, it makes sense that new marketing tactics are being used to establish and improve relationships with consumers. Previous research well documents the ethical dilemmas of direct-to-consumer advertising, and there is recent burgeoning literature on online covert marketing tactics. The academic and medical literature, however, is behind in regard to social media influencers used in health and medicine. This paper highlights and defines terms used in industry practice, and also calls for more investigation and sets forward a research agenda. As consumers spend more time online and patients continue to consult social media for health information, it is important that this new marketing trend does not go unnoticed.

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Unbranded advertising of prescription medicines to the public by pharmaceutical companies

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Industry strategies to market opioids to children and women in the USA: a content analysis of internal industry documents from 1999 to 2017 released in State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, L.P.et al

Industry strategies to market opioids to children and women in the USA: a content analysis of internal industry documents from 1999 to 2017 released in State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, L.P.et al

Policy Guidance for Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Services: Framework Development Study

Patient Influencers: The Next Frontier in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Marketing

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