Direct to Consumer (DTC) Advertising in Pharmaceuticals - Current and Future Market Outlook, Regulatory Landscape and Case Studies

Additional Information

Description

GBI Research’s new report, “Direct to Consumer (DTC) Advertising in Pharmaceuticals - Current and Future Market Outlook, Regulatory Landscape and Case Studies” provides key data, information and analysis of the major issues affecting the stakeholders of the DTC advertising market in the US and Europe. It discusses the major changes that have been observed after the relaxation of rules over DTC advertising by the FDA in 1997. The report also covers the issues specific to the European market as well where branded DTC advertising is banned. The report provides a comprehensive view of some of the best examples of DTC advertising along with the analysis covering reasons for such success. The report also provides a detailed analysis of some of the failed examples along with the key learnings from the same. It also provides an insight into the government regulations in the US and Europe for DTC advertisements and their implications on the marketing strategies of the pharmaceutical companies. The report provides a detailed explanation of some of the major reasons behind recent developments in the pharmaceutical DTC advertising landscape. At the end, the report touches upon some of the major trends that are likely to shape the future landscape for the DTC market in the US and Europe.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in house analysis by GBI Research’s team of industry experts. European Commission Proposal on Allowing Restricted DTC Advertising Brings Hope to the Pharmaceutical Industry

While branded DTC advertising is banned in Europe, over the past few years, bodies including the EC (European Commission), European Council and Council of Ministers have been softening their approach towards the pharmaceutical industry. Although the effort to relax the DTC advertising ban in 2002 for diseases such as AIDS, diabetes and asthma failed under public pressure, the recent proposal by the EC to allow restricted DTC advertising brings a new hope to the industry. In January 2008, the EC proposed to allow pharmaceutical companies to provide “objective” and non-promotional information to patients about their drugs in newspapers and websites. However, the proposal has already received resistance from various consumer advocacy groups across Europe expressing concern regarding the credibility of the pharmaceutical industry to provide clear and unbiased information about the drugs. There is also concern regarding the unclear definition of the term “objective information” which could be misused by the pharmaceutical industry.

Thus, although the proposal would take some years to get legislated, it is expected to bring better prospects for the European pharmaceutical industry, if implemented.