http://www.dannybelkin.com/2009/08/on-the-future-of-the-pharmaceutical-industry-part-i-marketing-sales/ Futurism, Technology, Parenthood, and whatever else is on my mind at the moment. Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:30:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.dannybelkin.com/2009/08/on-the-future-of-the-pharmaceutical-industry-part-i-marketing-sales/comment-page-1/#comment-1531 Danny Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:32:30 +0000 http://www.dannybelkin.com/?p=313#comment-1531 I recall a recent conversation in which you commented that without pharma backing there would be no viable clinical research to speak of. Would you prohibit these as well? The fact is that physicians and patients are the customers of the pharma industry and thus some degree of contact must be present. Any company can abuse the interaction with their clients - the smart ones realize, in all markets, that doing so is to their ultimate detriment. Indeed, there are companies which are well known in the field to be, shall we say, lacking in their ethical behavior, but they do get caught on their behavior and suffer as a consequence. All the while there are companies which strive to "do no evil" and realize that their long term growth depends upon keeping a clean record. You could pose the same unethical accusations at many other industries or professions (let's see: lawyers come to mind, as do, well, some doctors, chemical and oil industries etc. etc.) - but you would never think of restricting their access to their clients or markets. You just need the correct regulatory scheme in place and attempts to enforce it as much as possible. Flawed, maybe, but the best solution for everyone's benefit. Sort of like democracy then. I recall a recent conversation in which you commented that without pharma backing there would be no viable clinical research to speak of. Would you prohibit these as well? The fact is that physicians and patients are the customers of the pharma industry and thus some degree of contact must be present. Any company can abuse the interaction with their clients – the smart ones realize, in all markets, that doing so is to their ultimate detriment. Indeed, there are companies which are well known in the field to be, shall we say, lacking in their ethical behavior, but they do get caught on their behavior and suffer as a consequence. All the while there are companies which strive to “do no evil” and realize that their long term growth depends upon keeping a clean record.
You could pose the same unethical accusations at many other industries or professions (let’s see: lawyers come to mind, as do, well, some doctors, chemical and oil industries etc. etc.) – but you would never think of restricting their access to their clients or markets. You just need the correct regulatory scheme in place and attempts to enforce it as much as possible. Flawed, maybe, but the best solution for everyone’s benefit. Sort of like democracy then.

]]> http://www.dannybelkin.com/2009/08/on-the-future-of-the-pharmaceutical-industry-part-i-marketing-sales/comment-page-1/#comment-1525 Michael Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:28:46 +0000 http://www.dannybelkin.com/?p=313#comment-1525 You just hinted at the main obstacle between the pharma companies increasing their sales by closer interaction with physicians and patients - the fact that, like all for-profit organizations they cannot be trusted to do it objectively and honestly. Recent unethical and downright cheating by these companies came to light, in court and elsewhere. Some companies were not found dishonest only in their advertising and marketing campaigns but also in their scientific research, its interpretation and presentation to the medical community. These events created a reaction in which government officials, hospital managements and medical schools tend to limit interaction with the drug companies to the minimum, a fact which will render the activities and methods outlined in your article very difficult top impossible. You just hinted at the main obstacle between the pharma companies increasing their sales by closer interaction with physicians and patients – the fact that, like all for-profit organizations they cannot be trusted to do it objectively and honestly.
Recent unethical and downright cheating by these companies came to light, in court and elsewhere. Some companies were not found dishonest only in their advertising and marketing campaigns but also in their scientific research, its interpretation and presentation to the medical community. These events created a reaction in which government officials, hospital managements and medical schools tend to limit interaction with the drug companies to the minimum, a fact which will render the activities and methods outlined in your article very difficult top impossible.

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