Update on the Pending FDA Announcements of Social Media in Pharmaceuticals

Long time pharmaceutical management consultant Frances Alexandria Walls - Ayalasomayajula wrote in a recent post: on Facebook the following brilliant preface to upcoming changes to social media guidelines by the FDA. Specifically:

"The FDA will be coming out with preliminary guidelines on the use of Social Media in a few weeks. Regardless, the guidelines on SM will not be the industry’s miracle pill to handling this form of branding . Though the US is a DTC market, many pharma companies are still very shy when it comes to the use of social media. Many may have profiles on FB and other channels, but mostly the communication remains static, stale, and uni-directional for fear of something being said off-label...or heaven forbid, someone might actually stumble upon an adverse event. But alas, resistance is futile. We are in the midst of a true paradigm shift. The continued empowerment of patients is making great strides forward. The notion that pharma companies will actually be dialoging directly with patients is a prime example of this shift. The longstanding traditional route of communication with patients is still through providers or other healthcare educators. I think that the further application of SM and the personification of brands reflect heavily the reality that patients are consumers. They have choices, unique & specific needs, as well as a right to choose how, when, and from whom they will receive (and even demand) information. And as consumers, if pateints don’t like the practices of a company, the why the products make them feel, or the ever increasing price of medication…Guess what?...Companies along with millions of others are going to hear about it via these channels. I imagine this will be somewhat similar to how physicians are being put in the hot seat now that patients are educating themselves online about their health conditions, and challenging their doctors on the therapies being prescribed. Alas the industry can no longer afford to wait, Pharma is going to have to dive in, grow some thick skin, and be prepared to handle the complexities of what may be found through this medium. “Let’s get personal Mr. Pharma. I’d like to get to know my drug maker better. “" 

Well said Frances. And here in Australia of course there is the added layer of complexity that pharmaceutical firms are not allowed to speak directly with the consumer, but rather need to direct all their communication to medical personnel such as doctors and pharmacists.

I suspect then that in Australia, Medicines Australia will use these guidelines as a stating point and then   overlay the additional layers of compliance necessary to adhere to the Australian Code of Conduct.

Please let me know what rules you think will be put in place locally.

Certainly interesting time ahead and naturally we'll keep you in the loop as soon as we know any more.

Until then, good marketing and good luck.

Regards,

Daniele.