New celebrity drug ads have subtle twist

Bob Dole impotence ads
The sea change probably came when Sen. Bob Dole did ads urging men with impotence — now called “erectile dysfunction” — to get help. The ads were sponsored by Viagra maker Pfizer. Race car drivers and jocks have since done ads for Viagra and competing drugs.

Cycling champ Lance Armstrong has done cancer awareness ads for Bristol-Myers Squibb, which makes three drugs that cured him of testicular cancer. Even entertainment legends Lauren Bacall, Julie Andrews and Kirk Douglas have appeared in ads.

Olympians Dorothy Hamill and Bruce Jenner both promoted arthritis blockbuster Vioxx — since voluntarily recalled by Merck & Co. after research showed long-term use increases risk of heart attack and stroke.

Some stars have been criticized for praising a particular drug during talk show appearances without disclosing that they were being paid.

“Celebrities go on TV and they make people feel this drug is the cure-all,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, who notes that only the United States and New Zealand allow direct-to-consumer drug ads. “It puts all the pressure on the patient to go to the doctor and ask for the drug, completely unrelated to whether they need it.”

Research shows doctors comply with such requests 85 percent of the time, said Mark Bard, president of the marketing and information firm Manhattan Research.

He said disease awareness ads work particularly well for a company whose drug is the leader in a category, because it is sure to gain sales from new patients seeking treatment.

FDA encourages awareness commercials
The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging such ads. In January 2004, the agency issued draft guidelines — recommendations without legal force — that say companies don’t have to detail risks in disease information ads and “reminder ads” that mention a drug’s name but don’t discuss its benefits.

“We think disease awareness commercials are very beneficial. There’s a number of untreated diseases in the United States ... which can have devastating effects if they go untreated,” said Thomas Abrams, director of FDA’s division of drug marketing, advertising and communications.

Abrams said FDA has been reviewing consumer and industry comment on the guidelines and will issue final recommendations later this year. Meanwhile, FDA has been cracking down on misleading drug ads, increasing the number of warning letters urging a company to pull an ad — from four or five a year to 13 in the first five months of 2005.

Bill Weldon, Johnson & Johnson CEO and chairman of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, told members of the trade group a few months ago the consumer ads had “drawn fire from a number of quarters” and urged more responsible ads.

He said consumer ads must recommend talking with a doctor, balance drug risks and benefits better, and stress only taking the dose needed.

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