Last week the CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals had some candid comments on direct-to-consumer advertising:
Direct-to-consumer promotion [of drugs] was the single worst decision for the industry. … When industry says we’re spending all the money on R&D but actually it’s spending it on TV advertising to preserve margins, it doesn’t get much credibility.
William Burns went on to say the “marginally different and market-it-like-hell model [of prescription drugs] is over.”
Who besides the pharmaceutical industry thinks direct-to-consumer DTC advertising is a good idea? Doctors object to patients who self-diagnose and then insist they know just what the doctor should order.
So what happens is they come into the office, and they’ll say: ‘I need a certain drug.’ And a lot of times we’ll spend more time either negating the diagnosis that they’ve made just by the commercial, in addition to explaining why that certain medication is not appropriate for the following reasons.
The public actually sees some advantages to DTC ads. They educate, raise awareness and reduce stigma (think Viagra). But the public also understands that these ads raise prescription drug prices, stimulate unnecessary demand, and do a poor job of explaining the negative side effects.
Personally I think it’s one thing for an ad to sweet-talk me into buying a Lexus, but when it comes to my health, someone – the FTC perhaps? – should just say no. DTC ads are only allowed in the US and New Zealand. There’s a good reason.
Osteoporosis and the flying nun
Burns’ company Roche sells the once-a-month osteoporosis drug Boniva, whose spokeswoman is Sally Fields. For Fields, promoting Boniva is part of her feminist cause:
I want to help change the way women live as they age. We have fought so hard in our lives for things to be better, not to accept the status quo. We surely can’t stop now that we are entering this next part of our lives
Does that bring tears to your eyes? I thought not. To her credit, in another context (the 2007 Emmy Awards), she did say on live TV: “Let’s face it, if the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place!” But the Boniva commercials are just obnoxious. Here’s one where she waters her plants and plays with Lassie. Perhaps it was all that weight-less flying when she was a nun that reduced her bone density.
Here’s a nice blog post on Time Goes By from Crabby Old Lady. It’s on Boniva commercials in general and Sally Fields in particular:
First, a year or so ago, Boniva showed us a gaggle of early morning walkers who behaved as though the one who discovered Boniva had found the Holy Grail. In the next episode, a bunch of ladies who lunch nearly had orgasms over it. And now actor Sally Field is, apparently, as excited about a once-a-month dosage of Boniva as if she’d won the MegaMillions lottery.
What kind of idiots, Crabby wants to know, do these folks think old ladies are?
[P]lease – someone – give Ms. Field a movie to do so she doesn’t need to embarrass herself in a dumb and insulting television commercial.
“Crabby” makes the excellent point that it’s actually much harder to remember to take a pill once a month than it is to take one every day or even once a week.
The commercials are part of the Rally With Sally For Bone Health multi-media campaign. Fields has her own Boniva website where you can sign up for “One month of BONIVA free.” (That’s the least they could offer, after all.) What surprises me is not that there’s a free sample. It appears you can get this sample without a doctor’s prescription. (Am I naïve? Is this standard procedure?) The footnote to “One month free supply” merely says you must be 18 and can only do this once.
These are not wintergreen LifeSavers you’re signing up for. Take a look at the side effects:
Constipation; diarrhea; dizziness; headache; heartburn; mild flu-like symptoms; nausea; pain in the arms, legs, or back; stomach upset; vomiting.
Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Boniva: Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); bloody or black, tarry stools; chest pain; eye pain; painful or difficult swallowing; severe bone, joint, or muscle pain; severe or persistent dizziness or headache; severe or persistent heartburn or stomach pain; swelling or pain in your jaw; vision changes; vomiting blood or a substance that looks like coffee grounds.
Well, maybe one won’t hurt.
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