New Drug Makes People Love Drug Companies, The Onion reports Posted by Rob Schneider at 03/09/06 10:03 AM

Earlier this week The Onion posted Wonder Drug Inspires Deep, Unwavering Love Of Pharmaceutical Companies.
The satire talks about Pfizer getting approval for a new drug, PharmAmorin, and beginning a $35 million DTC campaign to promote it.

One TV ad, set to debut during next Sunday's 60 Minutes telecast, shows a woman relaxing in her living room and reading a newspaper headlined "Newest Drug Company Scandal Undermines Public Trust." The camera zooms into the tangled neural matter of her brain, revealing a sticky black substance and a purplish gas.

The narrator says, "She may show no symptoms, but in her brain, irrational fear and dislike of global pharmaceutical manufacturers is overwhelming her very peace of mind."

After a brief summary of PharmAmorin's benefits, the commercial concludes with the woman flying a kite across a sunny green meadow, the Pfizer headquarters gleaming in the background.

Brilliant.

The article goes on to report on development of a "me-too" drug by Bristol-Myers Squibb that will be more affordable for low-income consumers, but promotes trust only in Bristol-Myers Squibb, instead of drug companies generally.

My view: Development of these kinds of drugs underscores the ongoing work of companies to develop drugs where there are already effective, nondrug alternatives. Namely DTC ads. And it raises the uncomfortable question: why aren't drug companies investing in the promising treatments like RegulatorBackBonin and PleezCongressDoSomethin? There's a clear need for these treatments rather than the ongoing barrage of DTC ads that do little to help our system get better.

comments (0)