A Rare Rx Drug Branded Mobile App for Patients. Is It Just a Drug.com Site on Your Phone?

It's rare for a pharmaceutical company to develop a mobile app that includes brand name drug information. So, when I learned that Boehringer recently released a GILOTRIF branded iPhone/iPad app for people who may have NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer), I immediately downloaded it.

Although I luckily do not have NSCLC and have not been prescribed GILOTRIF, I was able to open up the app and use it (see the opening screen on the left). That's why I say this app may be for patients prescribed the drug and who need support. But it could also be targeted to newly-diagnosed patients who may wish to learn more about GILOTRIF (i.e., it's a DTC ad just like a drug.com website).

The official name of the app is "My Treatment Guide" and you can find it on the iTunes app store here.

Boehringer has taken pains NOT to mention the indication for GILOTRIF in the iTunes description. Perhaps they read my blog post about Pfizer's LIPITOR app, which mentioned its indication but did not provide the necessary fair balance (i.e., major side effects) as required by FDA (read "Pfizer's Short-lived LIPITOR Branded Mobile App").

I say "necessary" because, IMHO, iTunes pages that mention brand name drugs qualify as prescription drug DTC ads that must comply with FDA regulations regarding fair balance (ie, it must include Important Safety Information or ISI).

So, kudos to Boehringer for that. I have a few more interesting observations about this app that you may be interested in reading.

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House Bill Would Give FDA 18 Months to Finalize "One-Click Rule" Guidance: ROFLMAOYSST

On May 20, 2015, Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives a bill (H.R. 2479) that would "direct the FDA to clearly regulate meaningful, truthful and non-misleading communication of product information on social media."

Specifically, the draft of the bill (find it here) states that the FDA should revise its regulations and guidances to "recognize that [sponsors of medical products] may use the Internet to:

• "disseminate, in character-limited applications, truthful, introductory information about medical products, including the name of such products and their approved uses; and 


• "provide additional information about the safety and effectiveness of the medical products using information that is hyperlinked to such introductory information; and for regulatory purposes, treat hyperlinked information ... as if the information appeared in introductory information [i.e., the original character-limited text, meaning tweet]."

This, of course, is the "one-click rule," which has been hotly debated for years in pharma marketing circles. In fact, I was among the first observers to point out that the "one-click rule" as described above should be allowed. Let me explain...

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Brand Update : Maggi Noodles in a soup !

Its a worst nightmare come true for a marketer, the brand getting into a health controversy. India's favorite noodles brand Maggi landed in its biggest challenge of its life when the health officials from Uttarpradesh FDA asked the company to recall one batch of noodles of a suspected high levels monosodium glutamate (MSG).The news spread like a wildfire both in social media and mainstream media . 

The company sprang into action by denying any addition of MSG to its noodles however with a caveat that glutamate may have occurred naturally to noodles because of some ingredients. ( really !). Another news that went viral is that Maggi Noodles contains excessive quantities of the metal lead and hence it is going to be banned. Again the company in its clarification says that they test noodles for lead content and it is within the permissible limit ( really !) .

Its a crisis for a brand which is having more than 70% share in the Indian market but with competition hotting up. A big blow to the brand which off late has been harping on health platform. 

What is worrying is that the complaint has not originated from a consumer or an activist but by a government agency. Hence the perception of  seriousness of the finding is more and the damage is also grave for the brand. The main stream media also cannot ignore the issue because it is from a government department. Another issue is that since it is  a government department that initiated the complaint, the brand cannot hope for a speedy solution. 

It is interesting to observe how Nestle has responded to the crisis. The first reaction would be of denial. The brand had denied the finding of MSG stating that it has not added MSG to the noodles. The entire episode was amplified in the social media and Nestle was also actively engaging the conversation in the social media. ( Read a good commentary  by Karthik Srinivasan) . The twitter handle of the brand and the brand's micro-site has been updated with the brand's version of the events.

As Karthik has stated in the blog, the brand may be readying its brand ambassador Madhuri Dixit to convince the customer that it is safe to consume. Since Big B has also endorsed the brand, Nestle may rope him also since he already have experience in helping the brand survive such controversies   ( pun intended).

It almost 24 days since the issue began. The brand may be waiting for an independent test by a lab for further action or is it waiting for the issue to die down ? 

As a consumer since my child love noodles, there is a ban on noodles at home as of now. Because whether added or not, Nestle has confirmed presence of MSG or Glutamate and  lead metal inside - whether within permissible limit or not . Ofcourse we will continue to eat other foods till it is found guilty.

So what will happen to Maggi ?

The consumer's memory is short. So he will forget all these after sometime. Can Maggi wait it out ! The brand already had commented that it will challenge the order.

The larger issue is of trust. If one read between the lines of the company's version ( here) there is an admission that the food is not healthy but it conforms to legal norms. The company already knew the presence of glutamate and lead in it but the news came out with the controversy. It would take sometime for Nestle to rebuild its trust especially the health positioning.

It would be interesting to see how Nestle would be handling this crisis. The current strategy seems to be waiting for further clarification from independent lab tests and government actions. Probably the company  would be using the independent lab test to convince the customers that lead metal and MSG is within permissible limits and then continue telling stories of Taste Bhi , Health Bhi !.

Tom Stossel Attempts to Debunk the Conflict-of-Interest "Myth"

Yesterday, I interviewed Thomas P. Stossel, M.D., visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, about his new book, PharmaPhobia, and his call to action against the "Conflict of Interest Movement," which he claims undermines American medical innovation. You can hear some of his main arguments in the following 5-minute audio snippet from that interview:



You can listen to the full interview here.

Stossel uses many combative terms to describe the focus of his critique. In his book and in the interview, Stossel repeatedly refers to the "Conflict-of-Interest Movement," "Conflict-of-Interest Narrative," and conflict-of-interest "instigators, enablers and enforcers.”

Here's a sample of his acerbic style: “The case underlying the conflict-of-interest movement is a mixture of moralistic bullying, opinion unsupported by empiric evidence, speculation, simplistic and distorted interpretations of complicated and nuanced information, superficially and incompletely framed anecdotes, inappropriately extrapolated or irrelevant psychological research results, and emotionally laden human-interest stories.”

Tell us what you REALLY think Dr. Stossel! To me this sounds like every pharmaceutical marketing campaign, especially the part about "emotionally laden human-interest stories" (read, for example, "Online e-Patient & Celebrity Patient Video Testimonials").

But will Stossel's new book, which ends with a section on "What is to be done," turn the tide as he hopes it will?

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What I Learned During Day 1 at iPharma 2015

I am attending CBI's iPharma 2015 conference in New York City. Yesterday was the first day. I chaired the Technology Track and moderated a panel discussion that attempted to answer the question: Can Mobile, Apps and Wearables Make an Impact on Health Outcomes?

 Of course the answer was "Yes! And…"

As I learned from a previous speaker, that phrase was how "innovators" like Walt Disney suggested his staff greet new ideas instead of saying "No, because…" That is, people should add more suggestions for how the idea could work and not just shoot it down immediately.

It's just one little thing I "learned," which I can put into practice at my next homeowners board meeting when they try and shoot down my idea of using technology & social media to make running a homeowners association more transparent and inclusive. I imagine marketers -- especially digital marketers -- could apply the same thinking when their ideas are being shot down by MLR or upper management.

BTW, "innovators/innovation" is one of the terms on my Pharma Buzzword Bingo Card, which is shown in the accompanying image (updated at end of 2nd day). You can see that quite a few buzzwords (13) were mentioned during yesterday's sessions (for a buzzword score of 54%). Note that the complete bottom row is marked off and I have achieved BINGO!

BTW, Peter Justason, Director of eMarketing at Purdue, began a remark in a panel discussion with the phrase "If you are a pharma guy…" He didn't mean "The" PharmaGuy so I just put a dashed line through that in the card. Note: PharmaGuy is trademarked!

But enough of silly learnings. What did I learn that might be more useful for pharama digital marketers?

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WANTED: Pharma Mobile Pioneers

For the past few years I have been following and reporting on mobile health initiatives, campaigns, and apps developed by pharmaceutical companies. I've collected these articles, blog posts, and podcasts in one BIG compendium: the Pharma Mobile & mHealth Reprint Catalog (FREE!).

A few pharma mobile initiatives are good, many are not so good, and a few are just awful and potentially dangerous such as a physician diagnosis mobile app recalled by Pfizer (read "The First Ever 'Dear Doctor' Letter Regarding a Mobile Medical App Recall").

Regardless of the results, I believe it is important to recognize the pioneers within the pharmaceutical industry who are leading the way in developing mobile solutions for physicians and/or patients. That's why I am expanding the scope of my annual PharmaGuy Social Media Pioneer Award to include Mobile as well.

Here's how you can help me in my quest for Pharma Mobile Pioneers.

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#Pharma Must Be Social Media Brave & Fast Says Becky Canvin at Ogilvy HealthWorld

"How can the pharma and healthcare industry thrill on social media?"

That's a question Rebecca Canvin (@BeckyCanvin), Social Media Manager at Ogilvy Healthworld, attempted to answer in a guest column (here).

"Over the past few years the myth that pharma companies can’t use social media has been unravelled and conversations now focus on ‘how can pharma do social?’," writes Becky. "This movement brings about unique challenges, but one thing is for certain – as more companies recognise the importance of social media it’s time for pharma to be brave and take their conversations to the next level."

Becky recommends that pharma can do this by "getting the basics right" such as "having online conversations and engaging appropriately instead of just pushing out content on social networks" and "move fast when they receive comments online," which, to me, seems very sensible advice to follow.

Becky cites at least two pharmaceutical companies that seem to be getting these basics right according to results of her company's 2014 "Connecting the Dots" survey. Some pharma pundits, however, implied that Becky is a "young, inexperienced digital" person who "[spent] a lot of money without showing needed results."

Continue reading to find out which pharma companies are getting it right and who dissed Becky!

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PharmaGuy - the Book! "Socialize Your Patient Engagement Strategy": Coming This August

How Social Media and Mobile Apps Can Boost Health Outcomes 

Letizia Affinito and John Mack 

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RUOSH : Pity We Don't Make Shoes for Women

Brand : RUOSH
Company : Sara Suole Pvt Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 557

Ruosh is an interesting brand. The brand came to my notice through some good print ads in the TOI supplement with a very intriguing tagline " Pity we don't make shoes for women". I wondered how a brand can put such a tagline with a risk of offending women consumers.

Ruosh is a premium brand of shoes from a little-known Bangalore based  company - Sara Suole. Although the company is little known to the consumer world, Sara Suole has been a supplier of shoes to some of the well known global brands like Espirit, Kenneth Cole, Louis Phillippe etc. The company which was established in 2001 is a leading exporter of shoes and soles.

Its natural that a quality product supplier would want to establish its name in the branded world rather than remain as a little-known supplier of shoes. We have seen companies like Mirza Tanners launching their own brand (Red Tape).

RUOSH was thus born. The brand which started small in select cities is now fast expanding its footprint in both online and offline stores. 

RUOSH brand is positioned as an expert in leather shoes. The brand's value proposition is its quality and design. The branding tries to highlight through some interesting cheeky campaigns. The tagline " Pity, we don't make shoes for women" is also an interesting experiment. First it catches your attention and in a subtle way polishes the ego of men through exclusivity. 

Ruosh is currently running its TVC. 

Watch the ad here : Ruosh 1  

                                Ruosh 2

The ads are smart , humorous and conveys the message quite elegantly. Men would definitely like the way RUOSH conveyed the message. The brand has done all the right things in the branding front. The brand is priced little steeply at around Rs 4500 +  to fight it out in the premium space. 

Doling Out Dough to Docs: Types of Payments Pharma* Made to Physicians in 2013, Excluding Research-Related Payments

Click on image for an enlarged view.

On September 30, 2014, CMS published data records containing 4.4 million payments valued at nearly $3.7 billion in payments and transfers of value made to physicians and teaching hospitals in the last five months of Calendar Year 2013. This includes ownership or investment interests in applicable manufacturers and GPOs (group purchasing organizations) held by physicians or their immediate members, in addition to payments provided for research activities, gifts, speaking fees, meals, or travel.

These and other data are available to peruse using the "Data Explorer" tool on the OpenPaymentsData.CMS.gov website.

I recently used this tool to find out more about the types of payments big pharma companies make to physicians. I only looked at payments for items/services unrelated to research and ownership of stock; i.e., marketing-related items/services, which include

• Food and Beverage
• Consulting
• Charitable Contributions
• Education
• Grants
• Honoraria
• Speaker Fees
• Travel and Lodging

Unfortunately, I could not download the entire database because the number of records exceeds Excel's limit. Instead, I downloaded data for six specific pharma companies to perform my analysis. Although the result may not be representative of the entire drug industry, it does show how different companies dole out the dough to docs.

*The six companies I chose for my analysis include several with the highest yearly global sales:

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Pharma Buzzwords Heard During a Conference

Pharma marketers cannot communicate with each other without using "buzzwords." Some critics suggest, however, that some of these buzzwords alienate patients and physicians (see, for example, "Do Marketing Buzzwords Affect Pharma's Reputation Among Patients & Physicians?"). According to results to date of a new survey, even pharma insiders think there may be too many terms that just are not useful and should be dumped!

Before I present some preliminary results from that survey, I'd like to show you a real world example of the use of buzzwords mentioned during an industry conference, specifically the Transforming Healthcare Conference that was hosted by MM&M in NYC yesterday.

I wasn't able to actually attend that conference, so I followed the Twitter stream from the conference via the unfortunately very long #transforminghealthcare hash tag. Of course, this method may not have revealed all the buzzwords that were actually mentioned by presenters at the conference. But terms become "buzzwords" only when they are repeated --i.e, when they create "buzz"!

To keep track of the buzzwords, I used my handy Pharma Buzzword Bingo Card! Whenever a buzzword (or equivalent term) on the Card was mentioned in the Twitter stream, I drew a diagonal across the term in the Card.

Here's what my Card looked like at the end of the day:

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A Facetious Version of WebMD's Dr. OZ Style Kybella FAQ

The following facetious FAQ list is based on a WebMD FAQ list ("Here’s what you need to know" about a "New Drug [that] Zaps Double Chin"). WebMD appears to be vying for notoriety as the Dr. OZ of the Internet!

New Drug Kybella Zaps Double Chin: Facetious FAQ