Posts Tagged ‘Pharma’

asellers
Amanda
Sellers

JPM 2013

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Lissette Capati and I made the annual pilgrimage that most biopharma folks do – the journey to San Francisco for the JP Morgan Healthcare conference. We’ve been attending for several years now, since about 2009, so we’ve seen the ups and downs and what’s trending. There was a renewed optimism this year that we haven’t seen in some time and a sense that investors are genuinely excited about what’s to come. Biopharmaceutical companies are developing truly revolutionary approaches to scientific discovery and clinical development and health technology companies are making remarkable inroads in data capture and innovative uses of gathering, analyzing and using patient information to drive both treatment decisions and further research.

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Posted in Biotechnology, Pharma
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Spectrum Public Affairs
Spectrum

Spectrum’s July Fireworks

Thursday, July 19th, 2012

July has been a busy month for the Spectrum team, and (while we are not ones to brag) we have a lot to show for our efforts. Here are a few highlights of some of the great things happening around the office:

Our very own Liz Bryan was nominated for the 2012 Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) Emerging Leaders Awards. This prestigious award honors those up-and-coming women in communications whose talents have made a significant impact on the industry.

Resident science expert, Cynthia Chen, was featured in a Naturejobs story about alternative career paths for those with high science degrees. In the article, Cynthia talks about her day-to-day at Spectrum, her background and how she transitioned to health science communications.

Spectrum’s fearless leader, John J. Seng, co-authored an article published in commPRO.biz. John’s co-author, friend and fellow independent firm owner Louise Pollock of Pollock Communications crafted a top five list debunking the myths of giant PR firms and highlighted the advantages of working with smaller, independent agencies.

Lastly, over in the Spectrum blogosphere, the team has been covering the latest in life science news. This past week’s hot topics include pharmaceutical regulations, nutrition food facts and a new development in infectious disease via HIV/AIDS.

Check back next week as Spectrum Digital Account Executive Ricki McCarroll (@RickiMac) live blogs and tweets from the XIX International AIDS Conference.

 

 

 

 

Posted in Awards, Blogosphere, Food and Nutrition, Infectious Disease, International AIDS Conference, PR Industry
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asellers
Amanda
Sellers

Pharma Regulatory Issue? It’s Time for a New Plan

Friday, July 13th, 2012

The communications landscape in pharma and health care has become increasingly more crowded over the past three to five years. With social media, blogs and other online content as well as traditional advertising, how do consumers make health care decisions? How can they distinguish promotional claims from information driven by science and clinical studies?

According to a recent study by Wolters Kluwer, three out of 10 Americans say they “always” or “frequently” turn to the internet to find answers to their medical questions, while nearly 65 percent of Americans who turn to the internet with medical questions say they trust the information they find.

This issue has garnered the attention of the FDA, which is currently developing a study to examine the public’s ability to identify marketing messages from objective medical information. The conundrum is that patients are coming to expect more information from both their doctors and from the drug-makers themselves. In response, many pharmaceutical companies are beginning to use social and online channels to deliver more targeted information to the people who need it. But they are walking a fine line due to the lack of strict guidance. They must work even harder to ensure the content they distribute meets the highest level of regulatory scrutiny.

So what do you do when you’re facing a pharma regulatory issue? Spectrum’s recommendation: Plan ahead.

Yes, with a heavy emphasis on plan. As sensitive a topic as pharma is, it is always important to have the backing of a well-designed communications plan with tools and messaging to help navigate the waters for both professional and consumer audiences. This is our bread and butter or (to be more health conscious) our peas and carrots at Spectrum. We believe in taking proactive measures when it comes issues management planning and it is just one of the ways we love to help our clients every day.

So, we’re curious, what do you think about proactive programs versus reactive programs? Do you have pros and cons of each? Let us know what you think!

Posted in FDA, Health Care Industry
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Anthony LaFauce
Anthony
LaFauce

Where Does Protection End and Smother Begin? FDA Requires 45 Days to Review Ads

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

fda agentThe FDA is an interesting agency when it comes to the American public and credibility. Think about it: whenever most government agencies release a report or statistic, the general public tends to question its validity. But when the FDA publishes a report, the public (with the exception of people who work in the food/drug industry) just assumes they are right.

The FDA has just submitted a document to the Federal Registry stating all television ads that are ‘direct-to-consumer’ have to be pre-submitted to the FDA for review and approval. The Federal Registry is the “official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.” In layman’s terms: if something is published here it is permanently “on the record” and part of American history.

I understand the argument for this approach: “The FDA just wants to make sure that my health interests are being protected.” Ok, I get that. But what if the FDA fails to review an ad during that 45-day period? And then that ad doesn’t run and the public doesn’t know about a drug? No big deal, right? Wrong. (more…)

Posted in FDA, New Media, Pharma
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Anthony LaFauce
Anthony
LaFauce

Digital Pharma East: I Got iPad Fever

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I know the title of this blog post may seem a little odd. What is iPad fever? Can I catch it? What are the symptoms? Who is to blame?

Don’t worry there is an easy way to pinpoint if you might have a problem:

  • Does your CEO get doe-eyed when they see an iPad?
  • Do your fellow colleagues carry around iPads like they are small children?
  • Does “Let’s make an app!” come up in almost every brainstorm?
  • Does your company think the iPad will solve all of your marketing needs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you might have iPad fever.

(more…)

Posted in Crowdsourcing, Digital Pharma East, Innovation, New Media, PR Industry, Social Media, Technology
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Anthony LaFauce
Anthony
LaFauce

Digital Pharma East 2011 Day One

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

A big thank you is in order to my employer, Spectrum, as I attend Digital Pharma East this week. Day one kicked off with a great session lead by Takeda Pharmaceuticals Chad Ballentine who spoke about how to use a patient focused, multi-channel, customer relationship management (CRM) to really capitalize on your database to assure you are getting the right information to the right people…and of course increase sales.

Chad had a ton of good points but I was blown away by his simple, and spot on, key points on how to get the best value out of your CRM.

  1. Use digital [technology] to grow your database
  2. Use your database: Chad said that nearly 60 percent of marketers don’t actually use their DB
  3. Minimze duplication: With budgets scalling down, efficiency is key. If you have a high conversion touch point, make sure to increase your efforts toward that touch point and scale back those that don’t work well

Social Media & Pharma…it’s out there

As I sit here and type, drinking my coffee, Todd Kolm from Pfizer is on the stage talking about some of the great tools Pfizer is using to engage customers. Pfizer is taking to social media and positioning YouTube as an educational tool for consumers by using a blend of paid ads and search ads which link to channels with custom play lists.

As a lover of PR/Digital media I am constantly getting hit with, “oh Pharma doesn’t really do social” or “we don’t want to deal with the legal issues.” I am surrounded by around 700 people who see things differently. I am energized by hearing not what we COULD do but hearing about what we ARE doing.

Anyone else out there excited about this?

Posted in Digital Pharma East, Health 2.0, Health Care Industry, Innovation, New Media, Pharma, PR Industry, Public Health, Social Media, Technology
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