Kantar Media reported full year 2017 DTC spending declined 4.6%. Is this decline any reason for concern among the DTC industry? No, not really. DTC spending has become an integral part of drug brand marketing. There is no drug industry talk of ending it or reducing its importance. There was such talk during the temporary […]
Author Archive | Bob Ehrlich
DTC in Perspective: New HHS Secretary Vows Value Driven Care
Alex Azar the new HHS Secretary has promised to make healthcare value a top goal. Azar says he will shake up the healthcare system to deliver value to patients. He delivered that message this week to hospital executives at a convention in Washington. Azar said that America is not getting enough for the money spent […]
DTC in Perspective: Alphabet Spells Insurance?
Alphabet, formerly known as Google, has decided to enter the health insurance business according to a CNBC report. The entry of big data companies into health insurance could have significant impact on costs. The Alphabet health subsidiary is called Verily. Why might big data companies affect costs of care? They have tremendous capabilities to know […]
DTC in Perspective: Powerful Disease Education Ads
While branded DTC Ads dominate the spending, there are some drug makers investing heavily in disease education. Most do it because when they have a drug for the disease coming out shortly or are in the introductory physician awareness phase for a newly approved drug. They usually have the only drug available for the condition […]
DTC in Perspective: Amazon Enters Health Care
Amazon, JP Morgan, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway have announced a joint venture to improve healthcare coverage for their three companies. There are a lot of unknowns as to what this means for the broader healthcare sector. Is this just the start of Amazon disrupting how insurance is provided? Or, is it more limited to […]
DTC in Perspective: When Good is Bad?
I thought I woke up in a dystopian 1984 world when I saw an article on the low number of warning and untitled letters issued to drug companies in 2017. Written in the NY Daily News on 12/11/17 the article bemoaned the fact that only three letters were issued in 2017 compared to eleven in 2016. Somehow […]
DTC in Perspective: Dems Keep Trying to Kill DTC
In the latest attempt to kill DTC, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) tried to amend the Trump tax bill with an elimination of the tax deductibility of DTC as a business expense. It was defeated. This is the umpteenth time this tactic has been tried by Congress hostile to the drug industry. I have lots of […]
DTC in Perspective: Predictions for 2018
Time to have a little fun with the unknown. Predictions are nice for stimulating discussion so here goes. The DTC spending will increase modestly in 2018 by around 5%. Some of that increase is media cost inflation. So, I am expecting a strong year but not a boom in spending. FDA will not take any […]
DTC in Perspective: HIV Drug Starts DTC Television
ViiV drug Triumeq for HIV just launched a television campaign. HIV drugs have not used television historically choosing instead targeted print as its main media. The number of people who have HIV is about 1.1 million in the United States. HIV can be successfully treated and newer drugs have turned what was once a deadly […]
DTC in Perspective: A Broken Hip, American Style.
A week ago, my wife Debra broke her hip in a fall. The experience has given me a better appreciation of our health care system. While not perfect, I am impressed with the speed and quality of the care American style. That is, the for profit hospital was interested in her satisfaction as a customer. […]