Aurora Comms Blog

The grass is always greener (or maybe not)

Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by neilcrump in Communications, Health, Industry

Many of us undertaking pharmaceutical communications here in Europe think that we are on the back foot when it comes to the use of social media.  We look with green eyes at our American cousins use of social media, where direct-to-consumer promotion of prescription drugs is permitted.

Here in Blighty, the PM Society has formed a Digital Marketing Working Group which by the end of November this year will be making recommendations on the use of all things digital.  The findings will then be presented to the PMCPA (who set the rules laid out in the ABPI Code of Practice to which we all work to here in the UK).  The hope is that this will end up being incorporated into the Code so that we end up with clearer guidance on the use of blogs, Twitter, webcasts etc., etc.

Now interestingly the same type of exercise is being undertaken over the pond by the FDA with a public hearing scheduled for 12 November.  This is exploring the following questions:

• For what online communications are manufacturers, packers, or distributors accountable?
• How can manufacturers, packers, or distributors fulfil regulatory requirements (e.g., fair balance, disclosure of indication and risk information, post marketing submission requirements) in their Internet and social media promotion, particularly when using tools that are associated with space limitations and tools that allow for real-time communications (e.g., microblogs, mobile technology)?
• What parameters should apply to the posting of corrective information on web sites controlled by third parties?
• When is the use of links appropriate?
• How are entities with post marketing reporting responsibilities and other stakeholders using the Internet and social media tools with regard to monitoring adverse event information about their products?

Click here to read the detail of the hearing (it is an ugly looking document but sets everything out well).

Our US partners in GLOBALHealthPR, Spectrum, have put in a request to attend the hearing.  Team Aurora will keep you posted on how the story unfolds – maybe we might even get a guest post from our friends in Washington.

So maybe the grass is not so green after all and us Europeans are not so dusty.

It looks like there is going to be clearer guidance all around. This is going to be a good thing for all of us: clear parameters will increase the transparency and credibility of our communications. Hopefully pharmaceutical communicators will be able to engage in the way that nearly every other sector is able to.

Tags: GLOBALhealthPR, Social media, transatlantic