Friday, January 25, 2008

Full page ads in major newspapers: Does pharma really spend twice on marketing what it spends on R&D?

At this post ("Merck and Vytorin ... Who, Exactly, is Confused?") I commented on a full page ad (actually it's a two page ad, where page 2 includes prescribing information) being run by Merck and Schering Plough in the Philadelphia Inquirer to defend drugs Ezetimibe and Vytorin. I predict it is running in other papers in other major markets as well.

I first saw the ad on Tuesday, Jan. 22. It has appeared in the Inquirer every day since, today included. That's at least four days; I don't know when the ad started.

The cost for the ad must be significant. It certainly gives life to the findings that pharma spends twice on marketing what it spends on R&D.

-- SS

Addendum: readers mentioned it also appeared in The Akron Beacon Journal, Boston Globe as well as The Wall Street Journal. I venture is has been in many others as well.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

These ads have also appeared in The Akron Beacon Journal as well as The Wall Street Journal.

Steve Lucas

InformaticsMD said...

These ads have also appeared in The Akron Beacon Journal as well as The Wall Street Journal

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Anonymous said...

In the Boston Globe as well - at least 3 or 4 days in a row. What a waste of money, who reads that junk, I use that page to help light the fire in my wood stove.

Patrick S. O'Donnell said...

Add the Los Angeles Times to the list.