RGA6217_DB08

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School

Northeastern University *

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6210

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Marketing

Date

Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by ChancellorDeerPerson381

We've come a long way this term, discussing many different facets of New Product Development in biomedical products. We've looked at the process itself, as well as many of the different functional areas within biomedical products companies that participate in the process. Now it is time for the product to come to market. Marketing plays a significant role throughout the entire development continuum, but most especially when the product is in late-stage development, and at the time of launch. One marketing tactic that has been used since the early '90's, and which remains controversial to this day, is Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising. Currently, only the United States and New Zealand allow DTC advertising (for Rx products), and it continues to spark debate. The AMA, among other organizations, has even weighed in in recent years, calling for its removal. However, on the other side of the argument, there are many who believe that DTC advertising brings necessary and timely information to the public that would otherwise not be available. What do you think about DTC advertising of biomedical products? Please provide your opinion and reasoning. Each student will respond to two other student posts with a probing question. All responses must be responded to for full credit. When marketing is directly aimed at the targeted consumers even though it requires a middleman seller, it is known as Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising. Usually, DTC marketing is used by pharmaceutical companies and thus, it is highly regulated by U.S. FDA to avoid misbranding and misleading information. However, some individuals claim that it helps to promotes awareness regarding new available treatments & ailments, while others think that it might create bias in consumer’s opinion for a drug. Therefore, DTC has been a debatable topic over several years due to difference of opinions among individuals based on its effects (C. Lee Ventola, 2011). Benefits of DTC advertising (FDA, n.d.; Parekh & Shrank, 2018): 1. Encourages patients to take interest in their own health care by gaining the information related to their diseases and various treatment options available in the market. 2. Might help to potentially upsurge adherence to the medication by averting underuse of effective medicines. 3. Helps to aware patients about new medical treatments approved for marketing and their safety risks. 4. Improves and strengthens patient-physician relationship for instance, based on a survey 27% of patients engaged with their physicians to discuss their conditions and treatments due to DTC advertising.

Cons of DTC advertising (FDA, n.d.; Klara et al., 2018): 1. DTC ads may misinform consumers by emphasizing on benefits more than the risks associated with drug. 2. It might cause overutilization and inappropriate prescribing of particular drugs based on ads. 3. It may lead to rise in drug costs due to over prescriptions/ inappropriate prescription of drugs. 4. Low quality/ unreliable information in DTC ads for instance, none of the ads described drug risks quantitatively. In my opinion, DTC ads are beneficial to patients as it creates awareness among the patients for new treatment availability and encourage them to take interest in their own health. However, its benefits can be promoted if the regulations are defined clearly to promote delivery of high- value information to consumers. Also, FDA can boost its resources to support the content of information presented as well as it can use an unbiased entity to review and edit DTC ads for maintaining its compliance with the regulations (Parekh & Shrank, 2018). References: C. Lee Ventola. (2011). Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising. Pharmacy and Therapeutics , 36 (10), 669–684. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278148/ FDA. (n.d.). The Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising . https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information- consumers-and-patients-drugs/impact-direct-consumer-advertising Klara, K., Kim, J., & Ross, J. S. (2018). Direct-to-Consumer Broadcast Advertisements for Pharmaceuticals: Off-Label Promotion and Adherence to FDA Guidelines . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-017-4274-9 Parekh, N., & Shrank, W. H. (2018). Dangers and Opportunities of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising. J Gen Intern Med , 33 (5), 586–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4342-9

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