DTC Perspectives

Big Pharma agreed to support Obamacare with significant price subsidies for consumers. They assumed that giving this support would be offset by new customers through expanded access to coverage. They also got assurances that Medicare would not negotiate drug prices directly. The mess that is Obamacare may not work out the way the drug makers [...]

When one cuts through the early problems of Obamacare implementation, it is clear that there are many opportunities for DTC advertisers now and in the future. Implementation issues aside, we can expect millions of Americans to be added to the insured roles. That means more people will be getting drug reimbursement and more taking drugs [...]

Based on first half spending, DTC advertisers seem to be spending about the same as the first half of 2012. Kantar Media reports spending was $1.8 billion versus $1.7 a year ago. After a very weak 2012 with double digit declines, it looks like 2013 will not see negative numbers. The reasons for stabilization are new brands doing heavy DTC. Toviaz and Xarelto were new [...]

I cannot resist commenting on the official launch of Obamacare exchanges. I tried to access the Florida exchange, which is run by the Feds as it is in 36 states. I could not get past the application because it required I answer the security questions which did not exist to answer. I will accept that [...]