Roche exec: TV drug ads were single worst decision

Roche’s head of pharmaceuticals has said US-style direct advertising to consumers has been a mistake for the industry.

Speaking at an FT conference in London on Tuesday, William Burns went on to say the campaigns have undermined the reputation of the sector in the eyes of patients.

A total of $4.2 billion (2.86 billion pounds) was spent on direct-to-consumer advertising by companies in 2005.

Mr Burns commented: “Direct-to-consumer promotion was the single worst decision for the industry.”

“When industry says we’re spending all the money on R&D [research and development] but actually it’s spending it on TV advertising to preserve margins, it doesn’t get much credibility.”

Chief executive of Shire Pharmaceuticals Angus Russell also condemned direct-to-consumer advertising.

He went on to say the “marginally different and market-it-like-hell” model is now non-applicable.

Meanwhile, the European commission is formulating legislation that would be set to allow a degree of information to be disseminated about medicines by their makers.

Advertising pharmaceuticals would however remain banned.
In other news, a study has found Roche’s Tarceva treatment delays the progression of lung cancer.

Named Saturn (Sequential Tarceva in Unresectable NSCLC), the research showed the drug significantly extended the time patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer lived without the cancer getting worse, when the product was given as first-line maintenance.