DTC Perspectives

Multicultural Illiteracy “Most companies are not ready for the new realities of diversity.” -Bob Ehrlich I have to admit I am quite ill-prepared for the new multicultural America. I do not speak Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Korean, or Chinese. I have a new daughter-in-law from Venezuela and although she speaks perfect unaccented English, her mother does […]

Viva Vivus! “Weight loss drugs will be an ideal DTC category.” -Bob Ehrlich Finally FDA has approved Vivus obesity drug Qsymia, formerly known as Qnexa. FDA required the name change to avoid confusion with other drugs. This drug will be a blockbuster for obvious reasons. Americans have shown no success in losing and keeping weight […]

New FDA Pre-Dissemination Guidance “This guidance is a pain..but will not result in the end of DTC TV.” -Bob Ehrlich The FDA has received many comments from drug companies concerned about the dissemination of final commercials before they air. The draft guidance was issued on March 13, 2012. It basically called for a 45 day […]

Obamacare A Week Later “Obamacare one week later looks like an overly expensive solution…” -Bob Ehrlich The initial storm has passed. We can now take a more measured view of what happened last week. The issue most irrelevant to this law is whether it is a tax or a penalty. I do not care what […]

Heath Care Mandate “The ACA will be implemented and we will learn to deal with it.” -Bob Ehrlich A Supreme Surprise? Ok. Let’s digest the Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also lovingly known as Obamacare. Is this good news or bad news? Let me be totally non-ideological here. We need a better […]

500 “I probably have another 500 columns to write…” -Bob Ehrlich  500! This is my 500th column. It is good to see DTC is still here and thriving or else writing new columns would be difficult. While many in Congress and several noted consumerists wish DTC was banned it is clear now that the right […]

Prevention Marketing and Role of Pharma “An unhealthy America is a weak America.” -Bob Ehrlich There is no doubt that America’s real national security crisis is our poor health habits. We tend to obsess about bombs hidden in a terrorist’s underwear but the costs in money and lives are definitely higher from our own bad […]

Testosterone Use- Critics Blame DTC “A dose of personal responsibility is needed, not hammering the advertiser.” -Bob Ehrlich The DTC critics have a new target and testosterone replacement is this week’s story. There has been rapid growth of male hormone replacement sales more than doubling since 2006. A Bloomberg story from May 2 has received […]

Diabetes Nation “This crisis is … the most obvious threat to our national security. -Bob Ehrlich America will become plagued by massive incidence of diabetes according to The Institute of Alternate Futures. By 2025 they predict 53.1 million people will have diabetes. That is a 64% increase from 2010. It does not matter what system […]

FDA Could Approve More Rx to OTC “Pharmacist diagnosis and OTC treatment is not a bad alternative.” -Bob Ehrlich In a move causing significant debate and emotion, the FDA is considering making more Rx drugs available. FDA held a hearing March 22-23 on the subject. They have the comment period running through this week. The […]