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FDA: don't broadcast discussions on off-label uses

06/01/12 permalink US regulator finally addresses pressing digital question

Best Moments of 2011

16/12/11 permalink Health Secretary drubbed in health reform debate

European keen on drug info - but not via Facebook or Twitter

8/12/11 permalink New survey finds web users want serious information, not chat and games

Merck and Merck look to settle Facebook naming dispute

29/11/11 permalink Facebook had given the URL to Merck & Co

Earlier this month Merck KGaA, which is based in Germany, had taken Facebook to court over the use of the www.facebook.com/merck name. (Read more.)

Janssen sets up new mental health social networking site

28/11/11 permalink Aimed at emerging GP commissioners

Janssen Cilag and the NHS Confederation have established a new mental health social networking site. (Read more.)

Boehringer developing Facebook game

15/11/11 permalink Described as a cross between Farmville and Pokémon

Boehringer Ingelheim is developing a new Facebook civilisation game in the hopes of helping the public understand the difficulty involved in research and development. (Read more.)

Alex Butler leaves Janssen to set up Social Moon pharma network

27/10/11 permalink New website will be filled with comment and resources

Social media guru Alex Butler has left his former post as head of digital comms at Janssen to establish Social Moon, the UK’s first digital-only marketing and comms agency for the healthcare and pharma industry. (Read more.)

#fakedrugs: scammers using Twitter to peddle fake medicines 

24/10/11 permalink Scammers are exploiting Twitter to entrap people into buying fake medicines.

The report, published by the department of computer science at the University of Alkron in Ohio, says that the set up of Twitter is creating an ideal environment for those wishing to peddle counterfeit drugs. (Read More.)

Last words from Dominic

20/10/11 permalink  Two years after launching the blog, InPharm’s web editor Dominic Tyer bows out with a final post.

This will be my last Digital Pharma post as, after two years writing the blog - and a full 12 years with Pharmafocus, I will shortly take up a new challenge within the sector.

Since launching the blog in 2009, developments in the digital realm have moved ahead with lightning speed. (Read More.)

It's not about the brand website

19/10/11 permalink  The last few years have seen an explosion of interest in digital marketing in the pharma sector, reflecting the wider revolution brought about by sites like Facebook and Twitter, and mobile devices in the shape of smartphones and iPads.

But has marketing to pharma’s core audience of healthcare professionals really been revolutionised by digital media?

Beneath all the excitement and hype, the truth is that digital marketing has not claimed a significant part of pharma’s marketing budgets. This isn’t to say digital marketing hasn’t had a major impact, but neither has it become the dominant medium for marketing to doctors some had predicted. In terms of how much of the average marketing budget goes on digital, the total is surprisingly low. (Read More.)

NHS-backed health social network launches

03/10/11 permalink  A new NHS-backed social network has launched to provide support to patients with long-term conditions through ‘personal health planning’.

A new NHS-backed social network has launched to provide support to patients with long-term conditions through ‘personal health planning’.

Cambridge Healthcare says the new site will be free for patients to use, but that revenue from third party application developers would allow it to be self-sustaining. (Read More.)

Lilly plans social media expansion

14/09/11 permalink One year after launching its corporate blog Lilly is ramping up its use of social media.

Last week the company launched a new YouTube channel and tomorrow Lilly will make its official corporate debut on Facebook.

The company is obviously undeterred by August's Facebook changes, which forced pharma companies to allow their pages to host user comments, something the industry had previously been allowed to block. (Read More.)

Twitter slip-up shouldn't silence pharma

9/9/11 permalink  Bayer UK was recently ruled to have breached the ABPI Code of Practice by promoting prescription-only medicines to the general public via Twitter.

This was an embarrassing and unfortunate incident for the company, but I don’t believe it needs to scare UK pharma away from digital media.

I have to declare a particular interest in this case because I personally brought the breach to light though this column, and Pharmafocus subsequently alerted the PMCPA. (Read More.)

Mobile marketing

01/09/11 permalink “This, is not a phone,” said Mark Blayney Stuart holding up his BlackBerry. “It’s a very powerful computer that happens to make phone calls.”

The head of research at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Mark has been pondering the future of smart phones and marketing for a new CIM report on the subject.

He was speaking at the PM Society’s Digital Showcase meeting in London in June and presented some of the latest ideas and trends from the consumer world of mobile marketing. (Read More.)

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