We, as taxpayers and the people who purchase health insurance, are paying for advertised drugs. Therefore, we should have the right to demand restrictions on promoting the products we pay for.
I can say with confidence the only dry skin add is the one in PentagonTube hawking body lotion, the Pharma blitz on TV, magazines, internet, grocery store clerks with needles, avoid like the corner drug dealer, oh you thought the drug dealer was a straight shooter, yea I saw that coming
As a state employed psychiatrist working in a community mental health center, I had to spend a half hour explaining to a 16 year old boy and his mother why an antipsychotic medication was NOT right for him. I also had to spend quite a lot of time with insurance people getting prior authorization for people who no one wants to see go without their antipsychotic medication. The state paid my salary and I’m sure neither PHARMA nor health insurance companies reimbursed the state.
Direct to consumer advertising also fails to disclose the incredible cost of these medications. They also do not provide a true understanding of what the indications are for these medicines. Self-diagnosis is usually incorrect. Grabbing onto an advertised drug can be horrific for the patient who should depend upon the wisdom and clinical experience of their doctor who knows what works and what does not for their condition. Their doctor is also committed to treating them as an individual, which the commercials do not convey. DTC advertising should be banned. It turns the patient into a professional with no training, which is a deadly combination.
I am SO GLAD to hear from other MDs who are sick and tired of these deceptive ads. I am an MD who has had moderate to severe eczema/atopic dermatitis for most of my life. The ads for RinVoq make me cringe. Of course they are intentionally misleading because the goal of any advertisement is to make the product seem better than it is and to hide the negatives. They leave out that the drug was tested over a 16 week initial period and that, if you factor in the 16% who improved on the placebo, then the success rate was about 1/2 of patients. Also, as I can attest, the far cheaper LOCAL gel Protopic is more effective much more rapidly and does not cause the high rate of side effects including serious infection as does the systemic drug RinVoq. It is time for MDs to take back the practice of medicine and to ban DTC ads. MN, MD
Lawyers, advertisers as a class, Board Rooms and their CEOs are trained and paid to manipulate anyone and any process in whatever way it takes to make money and prolong their control of whatever golden goose they may have created or have access to or control of. Any claim to protection of speech is knowingly specious and self serving, and they know it.
I agree DTC ads are a waste of resources and should be banned. You misstated the efficacy data as you clearly have no understanding of what a PASI score is. Skyrizi does indeed have a greater than 90% mean improvement in Body surface area and is one of the most effective and safe psoriasis therapies.
The cost is outrageous but no insurance company is paying even 1/3 of the wholesale cost and your entire cost analysis is flawed.
The critique of Skyrizi's DTC advertising misses the critical role of FDA oversight. The FDA actively monitors and regulates ads post-launch to ensure they are truthful and balanced. Any misleading claims about a drug’s use or effectiveness would lead to corrective actions, safeguarding consumers from misinformation.
Moreover, the discussion on pricing does not fully capture the influence of insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). While the annual Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) may seem high, these prices are often set in response to negotiations with insurers and PBMs. These entities wield significant power, aiming for rebates intended for patient benefit, with insurers controlling how these rebates and premiums are distributed.
Understanding these dynamics is essential for a balanced and accurate critique of pharmaceutical advertising and pricing strategies.
I think the ads are fine but there should be more oversight and penalties for misleading claims. Either way, ban or no ban, your post makes me think that companies should adhere to stricter guidelines (i assume they exist) on DTC ads. Maybe those guidelines need revision.
Many of these expensive drugs suppress the immune system. We continue to see the rise in cancers. Some point out the toxins in the food supply and environment. Could it be these types of drugs that are becoming more widely used contributing to this? I'm looking for a functional medicine practitioner so I can treat the cause of things and not simply take a drug and end up on it forever. Look at type two diabetes; there is clearly a root cause that gets short shrift and the med lists get longer and longer while health goes down the tubes.
Certainly misleading and false drug advertisements should not be acceptable. But, maybe if the government (and our tax money) wasn't so wrapped up in health care, doctors would have time to do the research and have the discussions with patients about which medications are best because they wouldn't be so rushed to meet arbitrary metrics (15min visits) set by administrators who are in cahoots with PBMs and insurance companies.
Drug companies are always happy to increase sales, however even if all these ads never resulted in a single one they would be worth the money for the controlling interest it gives these corporations over media coverage
So as individuals we weren’t informed or educated enough to responsibly reject covid vaccines but as potential customers of a drug that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars we are encouraged to pressure our doctors to prescribe it at the behest of the manufacturer-got it
This is really beside the point but at the very least they could make a good commercial that isn’t so insanely cringe. Most of the commercials I can’t even take seriously they are so terrible with hijacking some pop song jingle or showing smiling people that if indeed they had the disease would likely not be smiling. So at bare minimum the poor quality and saccharine (yet expensive) advertising is just a reflection of how likely the product isn’t real and doesn’t come close to its claims as advertised. You would think they could be more convincing! Like what about putting an actual doctor in the commercial to discuss the clinical trial to discuss how many patients responded? If only there were a rotten tomatoes for drug commercials. And the same goes for “food” products?
Big Pharma runs ads to buy influence with media execs.
I can say with confidence the only dry skin add is the one in PentagonTube hawking body lotion, the Pharma blitz on TV, magazines, internet, grocery store clerks with needles, avoid like the corner drug dealer, oh you thought the drug dealer was a straight shooter, yea I saw that coming
What a great piece by Dr. Livingston.
As a state employed psychiatrist working in a community mental health center, I had to spend a half hour explaining to a 16 year old boy and his mother why an antipsychotic medication was NOT right for him. I also had to spend quite a lot of time with insurance people getting prior authorization for people who no one wants to see go without their antipsychotic medication. The state paid my salary and I’m sure neither PHARMA nor health insurance companies reimbursed the state.
Direct to consumer advertising also fails to disclose the incredible cost of these medications. They also do not provide a true understanding of what the indications are for these medicines. Self-diagnosis is usually incorrect. Grabbing onto an advertised drug can be horrific for the patient who should depend upon the wisdom and clinical experience of their doctor who knows what works and what does not for their condition. Their doctor is also committed to treating them as an individual, which the commercials do not convey. DTC advertising should be banned. It turns the patient into a professional with no training, which is a deadly combination.
I am SO GLAD to hear from other MDs who are sick and tired of these deceptive ads. I am an MD who has had moderate to severe eczema/atopic dermatitis for most of my life. The ads for RinVoq make me cringe. Of course they are intentionally misleading because the goal of any advertisement is to make the product seem better than it is and to hide the negatives. They leave out that the drug was tested over a 16 week initial period and that, if you factor in the 16% who improved on the placebo, then the success rate was about 1/2 of patients. Also, as I can attest, the far cheaper LOCAL gel Protopic is more effective much more rapidly and does not cause the high rate of side effects including serious infection as does the systemic drug RinVoq. It is time for MDs to take back the practice of medicine and to ban DTC ads. MN, MD
Lawyers, advertisers as a class, Board Rooms and their CEOs are trained and paid to manipulate anyone and any process in whatever way it takes to make money and prolong their control of whatever golden goose they may have created or have access to or control of. Any claim to protection of speech is knowingly specious and self serving, and they know it.
I agree DTC ads are a waste of resources and should be banned. You misstated the efficacy data as you clearly have no understanding of what a PASI score is. Skyrizi does indeed have a greater than 90% mean improvement in Body surface area and is one of the most effective and safe psoriasis therapies.
The cost is outrageous but no insurance company is paying even 1/3 of the wholesale cost and your entire cost analysis is flawed.
The critique of Skyrizi's DTC advertising misses the critical role of FDA oversight. The FDA actively monitors and regulates ads post-launch to ensure they are truthful and balanced. Any misleading claims about a drug’s use or effectiveness would lead to corrective actions, safeguarding consumers from misinformation.
Moreover, the discussion on pricing does not fully capture the influence of insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). While the annual Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) may seem high, these prices are often set in response to negotiations with insurers and PBMs. These entities wield significant power, aiming for rebates intended for patient benefit, with insurers controlling how these rebates and premiums are distributed.
Understanding these dynamics is essential for a balanced and accurate critique of pharmaceutical advertising and pricing strategies.
I think the ads are fine but there should be more oversight and penalties for misleading claims. Either way, ban or no ban, your post makes me think that companies should adhere to stricter guidelines (i assume they exist) on DTC ads. Maybe those guidelines need revision.
Many of these expensive drugs suppress the immune system. We continue to see the rise in cancers. Some point out the toxins in the food supply and environment. Could it be these types of drugs that are becoming more widely used contributing to this? I'm looking for a functional medicine practitioner so I can treat the cause of things and not simply take a drug and end up on it forever. Look at type two diabetes; there is clearly a root cause that gets short shrift and the med lists get longer and longer while health goes down the tubes.
I made a video taking on this issue. You might enjoy it. https://bit.ly/3EjPl00
Certainly misleading and false drug advertisements should not be acceptable. But, maybe if the government (and our tax money) wasn't so wrapped up in health care, doctors would have time to do the research and have the discussions with patients about which medications are best because they wouldn't be so rushed to meet arbitrary metrics (15min visits) set by administrators who are in cahoots with PBMs and insurance companies.
Drug companies are always happy to increase sales, however even if all these ads never resulted in a single one they would be worth the money for the controlling interest it gives these corporations over media coverage
So as individuals we weren’t informed or educated enough to responsibly reject covid vaccines but as potential customers of a drug that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars we are encouraged to pressure our doctors to prescribe it at the behest of the manufacturer-got it
This is really beside the point but at the very least they could make a good commercial that isn’t so insanely cringe. Most of the commercials I can’t even take seriously they are so terrible with hijacking some pop song jingle or showing smiling people that if indeed they had the disease would likely not be smiling. So at bare minimum the poor quality and saccharine (yet expensive) advertising is just a reflection of how likely the product isn’t real and doesn’t come close to its claims as advertised. You would think they could be more convincing! Like what about putting an actual doctor in the commercial to discuss the clinical trial to discuss how many patients responded? If only there were a rotten tomatoes for drug commercials. And the same goes for “food” products?