Drug Makers Beg for FDA Regulations to Allow Them to Twitter and Blog
In April, the FDA sent warning letters to 14 companies, including Eli Lilly and Co and Merck & Co Inc., about their drug marketing online, saying that ads for certain products were misleading and did not contain any risk information.
But it’s hard to include risk information when your Twitter post is limited to 140 characters. So the FDA called a hearing. More than 800 people attempted to attend the event, which had seating for only 350. Fortunately, proceedings were streamed on video, so you can watch here.
Participants were asked to consider a number of questions, including how much responsibility drug makers bear for online content about their products and how to determine when online chats about a medicine are influenced by the manufacturer.
So, what do you think?
Should drug makers get a hall pass from disclosure rules in short format media? So they would Twitter, blog, and provide search advertising mentioning the benefits of their goods, without disclosing risks? Or is advertising Lipitor different than selling jackets at Kohls, and just not right for ad venues which risk and benefit can’t be adequately presented.
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1 Response to "Drug Makers Beg for FDA Regulations to Allow Them to Twitter and Blog"
May 21, 2010
Your point is very positive.