This article is part of the following series: Pharmaceutical marketing, capitalism, and medicine
In my previous post on this subject, I pointed out that branding has become more important in the pharmaceutical industry. Implicit to the discussion was the common sense understanding that it is products, and in particular blockbuster drugs, that are branded. This is true, and I will say more in future posts about brand management strategies associated with specific …
This article is part of the following series: Pharmaceutical marketing, capitalism, and medicine
In response to my last post, a reader raised several issues that are too important to be buried in a comments section, so I’d like to offer a reply up here. I had said, “most pharmaceutical company executives (and much of the public) do not see themselves as profiteers, but as public servants.” Paul asked: ?
“What kind of …
This article is part of the following series: Pharmaceutical marketing, capitalism, and medicine
Because our pharmaceutical landscape is filled with familiar product names such as Prozac, Lipitor, Prilosec, and Viagra, we might think that brands occupy as prominent a role in pharmaceutical marketing as in other consumer goods industries. In fact, the perception among pharmaceutical marketing experts is that branding is a relatively new and weak focus in the industry. Many propose improved …
This article is part of the following series: Pharmaceutical marketing, capitalism, and medicine
In my last post, I recounted Merck’s reorganization from a research-driven to a marketing-driven company. All of the large companies in the industry underwent a similar transformation starting in about the late 1980s. In that post, I listed a number of environmental circumstances that led to this reorientation, the most significant of which was the state of the competition.…
This article is part of the following series: Pharmaceutical marketing, capitalism, and medicine
In advance of the renewal deadline for PDUFA (Prescription Drug User Fee Act) in 2007, critics and supporters came out of the woodwork to do public battle. Once PDUFA was renewed the hubbub died back down. PDUFA, enacted first in 1992, is a program in which companies submitting drugs for approval to the FDA pay a user’s fee. In exchange, …
This article is part of the following series: Pharmaceutical marketing, capitalism, and medicine
When modern businesspersons are faced with an obstacle, they do not ask themselves, “How will I overcome this challenge?” Instead they say, “How can I turn this challenge into an opportunity?” This is at heart a marketing philosophy, since it implies not the protection of existing territory, but expansion of it. Marketing is the strategic growth arm of every corporation.…
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