Pharmaceutical Companies Spend More on PR than on Disease

Forums: Health
Email this Topic • Print this Page

Pharmaceutical Companies Spend More on PR than on Disease
Title: "Disease Mongering"
By: Bob Burton and Andy Rowell
Source: PR Watch, First Quarter 2003
Researched by: Erin Cossen
http://www.projectcensored.org/newsflash/newsflash.html#prdisease

The pharmaceutical industry spends twice as much on public relations and marketing than it does on drug research and development. During the year 2000 more than $13.2 billion was spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the U.S. Drug companies such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Astra Zeneca hire specialist "healthcare" PR companies to help create profits.

The leading healthcare PR companies in the U.S. are Edelman, Ruder Finn and Chandler Chicco Agency. These groups are responsible for persuading doctors and patients to use products from the various companies that they represent. Patient groups are wooed to assist with disease awareness campaigns." They also organize medical conferences to provide a platform for well trained "product champions" to announce promising results of drug research.

PR firms aim to create "buzz" about the new drug in order to increased sales. Chandler Chicco Agency had much success with this when they created the buzz over Pfizer's $1 billion-a-year impotence drug, Viagra.

Advertising for drug companies tends to overemphasize the benefits of medication. Other strategies for dealing with problems are ignored. Diseases are created to create new markets for new drugs. Patient groups are created to boost a new drug that is about to emerge from the drug company's "pipeline."

An investigation by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that it is commonplace practice for articles to be "ghostwritten" by PR firms for well-respected medical researchers. This creates a market for new products by creating dissatisfaction with existing products.

Topic Stats
Top Replies
Link to this Topic

Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 1,984 • Replies: 14

No top replies

Re: Pharmaceutical Companies Spend More on PR than on Diseas

BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:

Pharmaceutical Companies Spend More on PR than on Disease
Title: "Disease Mongering"
By: Bob Burton and Andy Rowell
Source: PR Watch, First Quarter 2003
Researched by: Erin Cossen
http://www.projectcensored.org/newsflash/newsflash.html#prdisease

The pharmaceutical industry spends twice as much on public relations and marketing than it does on drug research and development. During the year 2000 more than $13.2 billion was spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the U.S. Drug companies such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Astra Zeneca hire specialist "healthcare" PR companies to help create profits.

The leading healthcare PR companies in the U.S. are Edelman, Ruder Finn and Chandler Chicco Agency. These groups are responsible for persuading doctors and patients to use products from the various companies that they represent. Patient groups are wooed to assist with disease awareness campaigns." They also organize medical conferences to provide a platform for well trained "product champions" to announce promising results of drug research.

PR firms aim to create "buzz" about the new drug in order to increased sales. Chandler Chicco Agency had much success with this when they created the buzz over Pfizer’s $1 billion-a-year impotence drug, Viagra.

Advertising for drug companies tends to overemphasize the benefits of medication. Other strategies for dealing with problems are ignored. Diseases are created to create new markets for new drugs. Patient groups are created to boost a new drug that is about to emerge from the drug company’s "pipeline."

An investigation by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that it is commonplace practice for articles to be "ghostwritten" by PR firms for well-respected medical researchers. This creates a market for new products by creating dissatisfaction with existing products.

How does the ghostwriting by the PR companies LEAD to DISSATISFACTION with existing products? If anything the professional writing by the PR companies allows the MDs and patients to make INFORMED decisions about medications.

If more money goes into marketing than into research, what's the big deal? Twisted Evil

0 Replies

I'll also add that much creative thinking, reading and library research goes UNCOMPENSATED to the scientists. If we were to receive COMPENSATION for the latter, the amounts of $$ spent on the two categories would probablybe close to equal.

0 Replies

Glad to hear I'm in the right business!!!

We have a capitalist medical system, like it or not. And one of the big reasons why P.R. firms charge so much money is the fact that they have to spend an inordinate amount of time learning about the product/service they have to sell. Their job is to take the facts and present them in the most effective way to a tightly defined audience...something doctors and drug companies are not trained to do. And in case you're suspicious of "salespeople" in general (you anti-capitalist pig! Wink

), I should remind you that we have truth-in-advertising laws. No P.R. firm wants to find itself in the middle of an expensive lawsuit. Most bad information in advertising can be directly or indirectly traced to the information provided by the client to the P.R. firm. That is why the drug companies are sued much more often than their P.R. firms.

0 Replies

The JAMA undertakes an "investigation"? It wasn't too long ago, that the JAMA was being investigated because of the support provided by the pharmaceutical companies for the research reported about in the JAMA . Conclusion= conflict of interest!

0 Replies

Eva.
You say..quote... "And one of the big reasons why P.R. firms charge so much money is the fact that they have to spend an inordinate amount of time learning about the product/service they have to sell".... End of quote.

Pray tell. And who tells you all about "what you have to learn".... the drug companys and associate industries. All the P.R. firms do is jazz it up and con people into taking it, all without any true research.

0 Replies

anton bonnier wrote:

Eva.
You say..quote... "And one of the big reasons why P.R. firms charge so much money is the fact that they have to spend an inordinate amount of time learning about the product/service they have to sell".... End of quote.

Pray tell. And who tells you all about "what you have to learn".... the drug companys and associate industries. All the P.R. firms do is jazz it up and con people into taking it, all without any true research.

The only true research done is that which is conducted at the lab bench by the pharmacologists and medicinal chemists. The PR people take the medicinal data and put it into words, that both MDs and patients can understand.

As far as "CON"..no one is forced to buy an Rx. If you want to fill your prescription, than go to the pharmacy. If not, don't. Try herbs , ointments, or anything else you feel might help your condition, but don't fall for the assumption that anyone conned you.

Do men take Viagra, because they were conned by the TV to try it? If they're weren't having an errection problem, they wouldn't be interested in Viagra in the first place.

Thank you for so many of our modern pharmaceuticals. They've been a God-send to many, many patients. Idea

0 Replies

Miller wrote:

The PR people take the medicinal data and put it into words, that both MDs and patients can understand.

Yes, Miller. That is exactly what I was saying. Thanks for helping me explain that.

0 Replies

Eva wrote:

Miller wrote:
The PR people take the medicinal data and put it into words, that both MDs and patients can understand.

Yes, Miller. That is exactly what I was saying. Thanks for helping me explain that.

You're welcome.

0 Replies

Miller.
To quote you... "The only true research done is that which is conducted at the lab bench by the pharmacologists and medicinal chemists. The PR people take the medicinal data and put it into words, that both MDs and patients can understand." End of quote.... Correct! "Public relation" you only talk to the public, you are a private advertising agent, who "dress up" what the drug companys tell you, before it's released to the public, the drug companys make sure you only tell the public what they want them to know... in other words a con. I may be wrong but from what I know, drug companys contact MD direct, do their "dressing up" and leave them free samples to "advertise" their products. Lets be honest, they are there to make money, if they kill or cure it's all part of the game.
I also believe, research people are usually paid to do the research by the drug companys. That would be as good as the out come, from the research done by the tobacco companys to prove that there is no harm in their product.

0 Replies

anton bonnier wrote:

the drug companys make sure you only tell the public what they want them to know.

side effects of ____( insert any random pharma here ) include gas with discharge, inability to control bowel movements, erectile dysfunction, lightheadedness, insomnia etc etc etc

Really dressing it up isn't it?

anton bonnier wrote:

I also believe, research people are usually paid to do the research by the drug companys. That would be as good as the out come, from the research done by the tobacco companys to prove that there is no harm in their product.

No.

It seems based on the replies thus far you may want to keep an eye out for overhead planes Laughing

:wink:

0 Replies

Wenchilima

Quote.. side effects of ____( insert any random pharma here ) include gas with discharge, inability to control bowel movements, erectile dysfunction, lightheadedness, insomnia etc etc etc

Really dressing it up isn't it?.... end of quote

No... it's called " covering their arse "

All I'm trying to say is.. Drug companies do a lot of good, they spend huge amounts on research.
BUT.... they only do it for the huge rewards that can be made, they do not price their product to suit what people can afford, they price it to make the maximum profit over the shortest period of time.
They are only there to make money... end of story.

0 Replies

anton bonnier wrote:

Wenchilima

Quote.. side effects of ____( insert any random pharma here ) include gas with discharge, inability to control bowel movements, erectile dysfunction, lightheadedness, insomnia etc etc etc

Really dressing it up isn't it?.... end of quote

No... it's called " covering their arse "

All I'm trying to say is.. Drug companies do a lot of good, they spend huge amounts on research.
BUT.... they only do it for the huge rewards that can be made, they do not price their product to suit what people can afford, they price it to make the maximum profit over the shortest period of time.They are only there to make money... end of story.

If they didn't, why would anyone buy stock in a pharmaceutical company?

0 Replies

Eva wrote:

Miller wrote:
The PR people take the medicinal data and put it into words, that both MDs and patients can understand.

Yes, Miller. That is exactly what I was saying. Thanks for helping me explain that.

You'd be amazed at how much saying the same thing a little bit differently can make a difference to different people.

I do a lot of self-employed freelance art work, and "girly" or "feminine" mean totally different things to people in different age groups and those from different cultures.

You just learn over time the right questions to ask to which people to understand what it is they're trying to say and communicate effectively with them.

Combine that with scientific knowledge and I'll bet it gets even harder!

Sure, advertising annoys the heck out of me too, but that doesn't mean that it's an easy job.

0 Replies

anton bonnier wrote:

Wenchilima

Quote.. side effects of ____( insert any random pharma here ) include gas with discharge, inability to control bowel movements, erectile dysfunction, lightheadedness, insomnia etc etc etc

Really dressing it up isn't it?.... end of quote

No... it's called " covering their arse "

All I'm trying to say is.. Drug companies do a lot of good, they spend huge amounts on research.
BUT.... they only do it for the huge rewards that can be made, they do not price their product to suit what people can afford, they price it to make the maximum profit over the shortest period of time.
They are only there to make money... end of story.

HAHAHA! I -LOVE- the government - required side effects listings.

"Estoprophrin will make your love life better, cure insomnia, and satiiate your appetite"
(in a fast, low voice)
"Also causes unexpected greasy flatulence"

0 Replies

Pharmaceutical Companies Spend More on PR than on Disease

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know