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Drug companies keep pushing the marketing limits

Advertising medicines is highly regulated in the West but less so in developing countries, where there is a large market for treatments for the ample supply of diseases that accompany poverty.

The Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing (MaLAM), an international watchdog group that challenges the pharmaceutical industry over advertising malpractice, recently spotted a marketing strategy aimed at widening the indications for a drug to increase sales.

The antihistamine Atarax, manufactured by UBC Pharma, is promoted in French-speaking West Africa as a ‘global treatment’ for ‘cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, dermatological and respiratory troubles’. The actual indication for Atarax is in the treatment of allergic disorders, particularly irritant skin allergies, but the manufacturer’s advertising has widened the range to include all disorders of the skin, and added three other body systems too.

This approach to marketing is seductive to busy doctors struggling to cope with inadequate resources, because it offers therapy without the effort and costs needed to establish an exact diagnosis.

Meanwhile, US drug companies are now allowed to advertise their products direct to the public, following easing of restrictions imposed by the Food & Drug Administration last year. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising soaks up around $1bn of industry expenditure each year and is seen as a key driver for future growth in corporate sales and profits.

American doctors appear to be uncertain of the value of this marketing approach. A recent survey showed that 40 per cent thought DTC advertising could confuse patients, particularly about drug interactions, and one in five felt that adverts would undermine therapeutic relationships.

MaLAM can be contacted in the UK on 01274 834512, or at johna@clara.net.