Is the marketing of a drug online, in particular — on sites like Twitter and blogs like this one (heaven forbid!) — grounds for some sort of special regulatory effort by the FDA? Well, they held a forum for it. While accommodating approx. 350, about 800 signed up.

Participants were asked to consider a number of questions, including how much responsibility drug makers bear for online content about their products and how to determine when online chats about a medicine are influenced by the manufacturer.

This is essentially a non-issue. Policing the entire Internet for critiques and comments about drugs? One might as well impose like sanctions on similarly-themed conversations over cellphones. This is one area where I agree with Pharma. It’s a safe bet that pharma companies constituted the majority of the 800 or so interested in joining the FDA’s discussion — as they have the most at stake. If all of this is all about the “promotion” of drugs or devices via alternative media, then it seems as though more attention should be paid to optimizing the scope  and veracity of traditional media used to represent their products and if those methods promote pharma companies’ wares in a clear and fair manner. | LINK

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