I'm Out of Here! Twitter is Better. Follow Me There.

Some of you may have noticed recently that we’ve been on well… a bit of a break… and I thought it high time to let you know what’s up with CNTO411, I mean Pharma BlogoSphere.

The long and the short of it is that I don't have the time to write long posts to this blog about other pharma-related blogs and bloggers.

I've decided that Twitter is Better!

It only requires 140 characters! It helps me condense my thoughts and comments into "blog bites" instead of blog posts.

So follow me on Twitter (@pharmaguy).


Follow me on Twitter

Benefits include:

• FREE reprint offers
  
• Instant pharma news updates
  
• Links to interesting people and ideas
  
• More...
  

Dozens of Pharma Blogosphere Bloggers Call It Quits: Cite Economy

"Following Pharmalot's closure and Scott Hensley's departure from the WSJ Health Blog, Insider has decided to throw in the towel." -- Jack Friday at PharmaGossip

"I have to focus on making a living and writing a blog just isn't enough," said Steve Woodruff after he shut down his Impactiviti blog.

The list goes on.

Only two bloggers remain:

• John Mack - Pharma Marketing Blog
• Peter Pitts - Drug Wonks Blog

"I never made any money any way," said John Mack. "So why should I change now?"

"I'm quite well off and enjoy a great government-run health plan," said Peter Pitts. "I also get paid to blog by the pharmaceutical industry."

Although the bloggers who shut down cited monetary problems, an un-named informant from PhRMA told this reporter that PhRMA, the US drug industry trade group, invited at least a dozen pharma bloggers to a symposium at a resort location -- all expenses paid. At press time, this was unconfirmed and PhRMA refused to comment when we did not call them.

Could an all-expense paid educational retreat be the reason why all these bloggers called it quits?

"All PhRMA offered me," said John Mack, "was a bus tour of America in its orange bus. I wasn't about to be holed up in a smelly bus with Montel Williams for days and days! Maybe if they invited me on that retreat I would have reconsidered."

Scott Hensley Quits! What's in Store for WSJ Health Blog?

I noticed that lately the Wall Street Journal Health Blog was a bit light on number of posts being made. At first I thought that not having Ed Silverman and Pharmalot to compete against, the folks at WSJ Health Blog were just being lazy. But now I learn that Scott Hensley is leaving. Here's his farewell post:

A little more than two years ago, I first clicked the publish button on this blog, nervously putting our debut post on the Web. Now, more than 3,900 posts later, I’ve had the pleasure of hitting that button for the last time.

I’m leaving The Wall Street Journal and the blog today. In case you couldn’t tell, it’s been an absolute ball.

The blog launched with high hopes and unknown prospects in March 2007. Happily, from the start the response to our online experiment was extraordinary.

For me, a print reporter turned founding editor of the blog, the thousands of thoughtful reader comments and the kindness of other bloggers have been especially gratifying.

Now I join the ranks of readers of the blog, which I’m confident will carry on just fine without me. If you’d like to stay in touch, the best bet is Twitter, my other fascination.

You can still follow Scott via Twitter: http://twitter.com/scotthensley

But what's going to happen to WSJ Health Blog? Scott says the WSJ Blog will do just fine without him. Jacob Goldstein, Scott's partner, is still posting to the blog, but like other blogs that have lost its "founding" pioneer -- notably Pharmalot and CNTO411 -- WSJ Health Blog may be headed toward obscurity. One hint: Scott refers to the blog as an "experiment," which doesn't sound like a business plan destined to survive.

Pharma Blogosphere Update

Several blogs in the Pharma Blogosphere are now going dark (see "CNTO411: We'll Meet Again, Don't Know Where, Don't Know When"), which is why I am writing this post.

Around this time a few months ago, John Mack introduced the blog Pharma Blogosphere to offer perspective about blogging about the pharmaceutical industry. Though we were initially pretty good at posting content, some of you may have noticed recently that we’ve been on well.. a bit of a break.. and I thought it high time to let you know what’s up with Pharma Blogosphere.

You see, during the past few months, there have been some structural changes to our organization, which have resulted in the consolidation of John Mack and Pharma Marketing News and we are now John Mack Pharma Marketing News. This is an exciting time for us as the spirit and culture of our new organization take shape. That said, we feel it is extremely important that our focus remain on fully integrating our businesses so that we can continue our focus of helping bloggers blog about the pharma industry. What’s more, we have several important milestones that we are preparing for this year related to our core areas of focus pharma marketing, pharma marketing, and pharma marketing.

With all of that activity, we haven’t been very good at posting to Pharma Blogosphere — and I’m afraid this hiatus will continue for the foreseeable future.

In looking back over the past year, admittedly, there were times when we may have missed the mark with Pharma Blogosphere, which some readers promptly brought to our attention. Yet, through this endeavor, we tried to stay true to the intent of blogging through diverse posts including conversations with key bloggers, company announcements, new programs and trends within the industry. There have surely been some challenges along the way, but we have collected some great learnings and, hopefully, visitors have been enriched in some way as well.

In our inaugural post I COULD have said that "we like to think of ourselves as pioneers." We still do as pioneering new blog posts is engrained in the fabric of our culture. And we will continue to provide bloggers with innovative information, the latest information, support services and quality information.

We're taking a break but not exiting indefinitely, so we hope to have the opportunity to chat with you again the near future.

Pharmalot Refugees Launch Pharmalittle Blog

This note comes in from pharmalot refugees 'Justice in Michigan' and 'Jaynesday'

In fondest tribute to Ed Silverman and his extraordinary Pharmalot site, and with appreciation to the Newark Star Ledger for sponsoring Pharmalot, a few of us Pharmalot "refugees" have founded the site, "Pharmalittle".

This is an all-volunteer, unfunded effort. Needless to say, it ain't no Pharmalot. Our hope is simply to keep a few of the conversations going about issues of shared concern.

Given our limits in time and person-power, we will post very selected news, have short bloggette discussion starters, and perhaps a surprising interview or two every now and then. Issues of particular focus are likely to be FDA (including preemption), pharma and politics, and perennial issues like DTCA, COIs, and the like. Occasionally, we may post a article that is an 'oldy but goody' - just for the sake of discussion. As on Pharmalot, our core goal is to learn from each other.

On the other hand, should we get a scoop, we won't hesitate to pass it on. Just send a us a cone.

Here's a scoop with cone:

Peter von Rost?

Every aspiring king, prince, or FDA Commissioner should have a family "shield" (aka "coat of arms") to use on his letterhead and Peter Rost, who aspires to be the new FDA commish, says someone sent him just the shield he's been "looking for" (that's it on the left; see the original here).

BTW, back in January, 2008, when I was writing about Rost speaking before the Swedish parliament, I came up with my own version of the "Rost Family Shield," which is depicted on the right.

Which ever shield fits, all Rost now needs is to prepend "von" to his name and the "von Rost" dynasty will be set to begin -- as soon as he's nominated for commish, that is.

But "von Rost" may be too reminiscent of another "von" we all are happy to be rid of come January 20, 2009.

Pharmalot Folds: Good Bye and Good Luck to Ed Silverman

I was sorry to hear that Ed Silverman "took the money and ran" and will no longer be writing for Pharmalot, which I assume will fold without him. I will miss Ed's presence in the Pharma Blogosphere, although I am sure he will continue to contribute somehow.

"This is my long goodbye," said Ed in his final post.

"For two glorious years, I have had the privilege and good fortune to run this site. Now, though, the time has come to walk away. This was a difficult decision, but one that is rooted in the turmoil engulfing the newspaper business. Let me explain.

"Three years ago, I suggested a site that could somehow become a go-to destination for news and discussion concerning the pharmaceutical industry. As someone who had covered pharma for a decade, but was itching to do something different, a web site represented not only a next step in gathering and disseminating information, but also an opportunity to get ahead of the curve and move on to another stage in my career.

"Happily, the notion was backed by Jim Willse, the editor of The Star-Ledger of New Jersey, which owns Pharmalot and is the flagship in the Newhouse chain of newspapers. After the usual planning and tinkering, Pharmalot launched exactly two years ago. And since then, the site has become popular and well-known – as of last month, we notched about 11,000 unique daily visitors and some 330,000 monthly pageviews on a 30-day rolling basis. There were accolades from The Financial Times and the Association of Health Care Journalists. I was regularly asked to speak at dinners and conferences.

"Meanwhile, as you know, the newspaper business has been declining rapidly and, last summer, the Ledger offered generous buyouts, sufficiently generous that I was tempted to consider the package. And for various personal reasons, that is what I have chosen to do. Yes, there were discussions to continue with Pharmalot – the Ledger, particularly Willse, recognizes the potential for the site and I thoroughly enjoy the work. The long hours and intense routine may be grueling, but Pharmalot has been an extremely challenging and satisfying preoccupation. In the end, though, we were unable to find a path forward.

"And so, I am now moving on."

Rost for FDA Commish Gains Support from Senator, Congresswoman, and Blogger

As I reported on Pharma Marketing Blog, Peter Rost -- who has made a reputation as whistle blower, muckraker, and Pfizer nemesis -- holds the lead in my "Who Should Obama Nominate for FDA Commissioner?" survey (see "Meet the Person Likely to be the Next FDA Commissioner").

Today, I received a note from Rost that reproduced email he received from U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson that promised they would deliver a letter to the appropriate person on the Obama transition team recommending Rost be nominated as FDA Commissioner! See "U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson support Dr. Rost for FDA Commissioner" on Rost's blog site. [That's Sen. Brown in the photo on the left.]

Cary Byrd over at eDrugSearch Blog also endorses Rost for FDA Commissioner and has published an interview with Rost here: "Q&A with Dr. Peter Rost, eDrugSearch.com’s choice for FDA commissioner".

If Rost does become FDA Commissioner, he owes me big time!

I started the "Rost for FDA Commissioner" campaign when I reported that "FDA Intern Supports Peter Rost for New FDA Commish!" back in early November (read the history here).

If Rost does become FDA Commissioner, I am dead to the pharma industry!

Just for the record, I personally endorse Susan Wood (see "Susan Wood: "The One to Take the Lead" of the FDA"). I have corresponded with Ms. Wood and asked her to respond to the following questions:

• Should the FDA be given authority to control tobacco and nicotine as a drug?
• Should the FDA have more resources and use them to bolster inspections of imported food and drug products and allow re-importation of cheaper Rx drugs?
• Should the FDA be given authority to review and approve generic versions of biologic drugs?
• Should the FDA preemption of consumer lawsuits against drug companies be eliminated?
• (my favorite) Should the FDA issue specific guidance on the use of the Internet for the promotion of Rx drugs?

So far, I have not heard back from her on these specific issues, but regarding the possibility that she could be nominated, she did say "I apprecitate (sic) your support for such a hypothetical situation".

NOTE: Among respondents to my survey who say they are very or somewhat supportive of the pharmaceutical industry, Rost comes in 5th behind Nissen, Wood, Woodcock, and Califf.

Take the survey here and vote for your choice.

Is Ed Silverman Interviewing for a New Job?

Yesterday, Ed Silverman -- the prolific Pharmalot blogger -- wrote that he was taking the afternoon off for a "speaking" engagement at a major pharmaceutical company:

"Pardon the interruption this afternoon," Ed wrote, "but believe it or not, we have again been asked to talk about what we do - you know, covering pharma and this new media world in which we live. Who asked us this time? Well, if you must know, it is….a big drugmaker. Which one? Guess correctly, and we will send you a Pharmalot t-shirt. Seriously. We have a trunk full. However, we should point out that, no, we are not paid for this activity, although we will accept a cup of stimulation. Wish us luck and see you shortly..."

Starting with me, about 38 of Ed's loyal fans suggested the name of the drug company.

Last night, Ed posted this comment in response:

"Since it is now nearly midnight back here in the nation’s medicine chest, I thought it might be a good time to say the guessing game is over. The lucky winners will be contacted for mailing addresses and, yes, I will actually send honest-to-goodness Pharmalot t-shirts, which sport the spiffy Pharmalot logo. Perfect for, well, just about anything. No charge involved. Meanwhile, I want to thank those of you who took the time to guess. I never expected so many responses."

If the guessing game is over, Ed, why not tell us where you were? Why all this secrecy? It's worse than trying to guess who Obama will pick next!

Has Ed been offered a corporate mouthpiece job at one of the pharma companies commenters mentioned, where he’ll take over or start up the blogging function?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Ed finally responded:

Hi John,

Sorry for the secrecy. I was just trying to have a little fun by making this into a guessing game.

The correct answer was…Pfizer. And I was asked to speak to their global communications and policy folks, who also heard from the gentleman who runs Sermo.

I’ve spoken a number of times - the NY/NJ chapter of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society; the Association of Health Care Journalists NY chapter; Sanofi-Aventis policy and communications people; the NJ Chapter of the American Association of Indian Pharmaceutical Scientists; the Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council; a DTC Perspectives conference, and the recent Pharma Compliance Congress in Washington DC.

Well, I was right on one count: Ed was talking to corporate communication types. It's still possible that Pfizer will offer him a job working for the group he spoke to. Just trying to have a little fun by making this a guessing game!

Peter Rost's Blog's New Name: Peter Rost for FDA Commissioner

Today I noticed that Peter Rost -- former Pfizer Marketing VP, turned drug industry whistle blower, author, and blogger -- changed the name of his blog (again!) to PETER ROST FOR FDA COMMISSIONER.

It all started when I reported on Pharma marketing Blog that FDA Intern -- Strange visitor from an Ivy League school who came to FDA with powers and ability far beyond those of Janet Woodcock or even FDA commish Andy von Eschenbach! -- announced her endorsement of Peter Rost as president-elect Obama's nominee choice for the new FDA Commissioner (see "FDA Intern Supports Peter Rost for New FDA Commish!").

Peter himself had re-published on his blog a 2004 press release in which Rahm Emanuel -- Obama's new Chief of Staff -- expressed a glowing opinion of Rost (see "Emanuel Statement: Importation Press Conference with Pfizer Vice President Dr. Peter Rost").

Shortly afterward, I decided to start my "Who Should Obama Nominate for FDA Commissioner?" survey (see "Vote for New FDA Commissioner: Let Obama Know"). I picked names of 10 contenders from opinions expressed by various bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere to include in the survey. Out of respect for FDA Intern, I included Peter Rost in that list. Respondents can also write-in their own choices.

I asked several bloggers to include notices about my survey on their blogs and a few, including Peter, did so.

What surprised me -- and I think Peter as well -- was that Peter became the leading contender very early on and still leads the pack with nearly 100 people voting to date (see "FDA Critics Lead the Pack of Contenders for New FDA Commissioner According to Poll!"). This despite the fact that I endorsed Susan Wood on Pharma Marketing Blog (see "Susan Wood: 'The One to Take the Lead' of the FDA").

At first, Rost did not take himself seriously as a contender for FDA Commissioner. But he also saw the results of mt survey and posted them to his site and the story was picked up by a German newspaper that obviously took all this seriously (see "Germany discusses possibility for Dr. Rost to become new FDA Commissioner").

I also pointed out to Rost that the Obama transition team had a Web site where people could submit their resumes for government jobs in the Obama administration. Peter thanked me for the heads-up and quickly applied.

I also notified the Obama transition team about my survey and suggested they keep up with the results and comments from respondents when I publish them in an upcoming issue of Pharma Marketing News.

Here are the top contenders to date for FDA Commissioner nominee, according to my survey respondents:

1. Peter Rost - 24.5%
2. Steven Nissen -- 14.9%
3. Janet Woodcock -- 12.8%
4. Susan Wood -- 10.6%

If we look at just respondents from the USA, the results are a bit different:

1. Steven Nissen -- 17.3%
2. Peter Rost -- 16.0 %
3. Janet Woodcock -- 12.0%
4. Susan Wood -- 12.0%

Of course, now that the ROST FOR FDA COMMISSIONER campaign is in full swing, we can expect even more votes for Rost!

What do you think? Is Rost your choice for FDA Commissioner? Vote now!

Has the alliconnect Blog Been Abandoned?

The last post made to the alliconnect blog was on September 3, 2008 (see screen shot below).

Who Do You Think Should be the New FDA Commissioner?

Click on the image to take the survey

Pharma 2.0: A New (to me) Blog in the Pharma Blogosphere

I just discovered or re-discovered Pharma 2.0, which is a blog written by Bunny (aka Beatrice) Ellerin who is a Managing Director in the New York office of InterbrandHealth, a brand consultancy, which is part of Interbrand, which is part of the marketing communications giant Omnicom.

Bunny leads the research division and is responsible for all facets of the business including operational performance, business development, client management and staffing. She is also spearheading the firm’s efforts in the Health 2.0 space.

Here's her "mission statement" as expressed in her first post to the blog:

This is my first stab at blogging. It’s taken a while to find a topic that I was interested in writing about consistently, but finally I have. Over the past year I have immersed myself in the world of social media, particularly as it relates to healthcare. The number of health-related social networks, blogs, videos and wikis is astounding. Even more so is the level of trust they inspire and the depth of personal information patients share with each other online. While patients still turn to their doctors (when they can reach them), they are also increasingly turning to each other to discuss medications, treatments, symptoms and more.

What is happening online today is very different than what we experienced in the early days of the Internet – remember the term eHealth? The early eHealth sites were information aggregators, primarily one-way in nature. They did not encourage interaction among site participants. Today’s sites are the opposite, all about community, conversations, collective wisdom and UCG (user generated content).

So where does pharma fit into all of this? Traditionally the pharmaceutical industry has been a sizable funder of web-based activities through sponsorships, online CME, unbranded disease sites and branded product sites. According to eMarketer (April 2008), online ad spending will reach $1.2 billion in 2008 and nearly double to $2.2 billion by 2011. Indeed without support from the pharma industry, many health sites would have failed.

Today’s web, however, poses new challenges for pharma marketers. Dialogue is happening all over the Internet - patients talk about drugs in online videos, physicians discuss products they have used (and perhaps disliked) on blogs, parents post information (and misinformation) about childhood vaccines in social networks. In the old days, pharma could control the message; today that is neither possible nor desirable.

So then how and when should pharma engage? The goal of this blog is to address that question. We will explore specifics related to social media and identify how industry (pharma, biotech and medtech) to can engage successfully and meaningfully. We will look at specific examples of programs that are launched, interview industry leaders, talk to CEO’s of interesting social media companies, examine the regulatory environment, capture insights from patient opinion leaders and highlight relevant data.

I wonder what Bunny has to say about my recent post to Pharma Marketing Blog -- "King of the Hill Blasts Social Network Marketing: Lessons for Pharma." Maybe she also saw that King of the Hill episode.

Let's Hope Pharmalot Survives!

This past week I noticed 3 indicators that Ed Silverman, author of Pharmalot, may soon be losing his job at the New Jersey Star-Ledger, the newspaper that owns Pharmalot.

First, Insider over at PharmaGossip picked up the story of trouble at the Star-Ledger (see "Let's Hope Ed at Pharmalot is OK"):

The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., will reduce its newsroom staff by nearly half through voluntary buyouts as New Jersey's largest newspaper seeks to return to profitability.

Jim Willse, the Star-Ledger's editor, said Friday that the newspaper accepted 151 buyout offers from its news staff, or about 45 percent of its 334 editorial employees. He said 17 buyout applications were rejected.

Some staffers already have left, and others are leaving by year's end, many after the elections.

You can read more here from the Star-Ledger, although, so far, Ed is silent about all this on Pharmalot.

I have noticed that Ed has been making the rounds speaking at many industry conferences. Usually, when you see someone speak at several conferences in a short timeframe, it's a sign that the person may be looking for new opportunities.

The third thing I noticed was a promotional email sent to me via the Pharmalot mailing list, which I subscribed to in order to keep up with posts made to Pharmalot -- and NOT to receive promotional emails! This indicates that Pharmalot is trying to capitalize on its reputation and subscribers to squeeze more advertising revenue out of the blog. I think it's the first time that a blogger has used his or her subscriber list to promote a product or service for a third-party advertiser. Sounds desperate.

If the Star-Ledger and Pharmalot go belly up, I too hope Ed survives! Ed is a veteran reporter and knows all about the problems facing print news media. He expressed these concerns to me many months ago. I'm sure he has a plan to switch to something new, interesting, and profitable in the digital news realm.

Here's a prediction you heard here first: I predict that Ed and few of his fellow employees will take over ownership of Pharmalot from the Star-Ledger, perhaps with some angel investor assistance.

Pfizer Hits Ehrlich with $5216 to $8357 in Retiree Health Benefit Costs!

For a real life demonstration of how inadequate McCain's health plan is, even for well-off pharmaceutical company retirees, I offer the following from Bob Ehrlich who wrote in his eNewsletter for DTC Executives (find his entire article over at DTC Perspectives Blog):

"I am considered a Pfizer retiree. I worked there for about three days after their takeover of Warner-Lambert in 2000. I am covered for health insurance by the Pfizer retiree plan. When I received the retiree newsletter last week I was rather shocked to see that insurance costs will rise dramatically starting in 2009. Apparently Pfizer and many other corporations have capped their contributions which reached a peak in 2008. So all retirees are going to carry the up charges from now on.

"Pfizer says our costs will be $5216 in 2009, $8357 in 2010 and $11,808 in 2011. Sounds like a bubble to me. The company says these rates are still less than if we went out on our own to buy health insurance. I do not like paying these rates but I can afford it. What about the majority of their retirees who cannot afford such rising costs? I imagine there are millions of retirees who face this same dilemma from thousand of corporations."

If McCain were elected president and was able to implement his $5,000 tax credit for buying health insurance in the "open" and de-regulated insurance market, Erhlich would immediately lose $216 and up to $6,1808 in 3 years. That's considering just the cost of subsidized benefit. He would also be likely to pay taxes on the portion of the benefit paid by Pfizer.

What would Erhlich have to pay for health insurance if it were not subsidized by Pfizer? That is, what would he pay in the "open" market? If he is going to pay $11,808 for his share of a subsidized plan, I got to imagine the total bill for his plan is at least 2X that! Yikes! Could he afford that in an "open" market? What group would he be able to join that can offer a better deal than the thousands of Pfizer retirees?

Maybe this is why only 31% of Pharmaceutical employees who have taken my "McCain vs. Obama: Who's Better for Pharma" survey say they will vote for McCain versus 54% who say they will vote for Obama!

Check Out McCain's "Tiki Bar!"

Presidential candidate John McCain currently has one of his 7 or so houses up for sale on Realtor.com. I learned about this from Peter Rost's Blog where you can find the link to the listing of this $12,000,000, 9 Bed, 8 Bath, 14,000 Sq. Ft. house that would cost you $65,619 per month if only you could obtain a mortgage.

Scrolling through the 13 photos of this "single-family" dwelling, I found the above photo of the outdoor "tiki bar." That more than anything bothered me.

For months now I have been dreaming of and designing my very own tiki bar that I may be able to afford after my two sons finish college. I've been looking at storage sheds that could be converted to house the bar and a portable sink connected by a hose to my house's water supply. I would run electric extension cords from my house to power the lights and small refrigerator. No thatched roof -- that would be too expensive. I notice that McCain's tiki bar also does not have a thatched roof. That much I have in common with McCain -- when I am able to get my tiki bar that is.

BTW, have you decided yet who you will vote for in November? Please take my McCain Vs. Obama. Who's Better for Pharma Survey. You can remain anonymous and will be able to view the results so far. Over 250 people have already taken this survey.

Friends in the Pharma Industry are Losing Their Jobs!

We've known for a long time that the pharmaceutical industry is in a recession. The results of a poll of readers of Pharma Marketing Blog that I started back in March, 2008 has consistently said so (see "Is the Pharma Industry in a Recession?" and the chart above showing recent results; go to Pharma Marketing Blog to take the poll).

We've all seen the stories of decreasing pharmaceutical marketing and R&D budgets and resulting layoffs.

Now I am beginning to hear from friends -- including at least two bloggers who work at pharmaceutical companies -- that they have "left" their jobs to pursue other activities. Rich Meyer, blogger over at "The World of DTC Marketing Blog", recently left Medtronic Diabetes -- a medical device company -- because he felt they were not investing in the "e" channel and believed that his talents could be better used elsewhere.

Lending a Hand
Jobs come and go, but friends are forever. Whatever I can do to help my friends find new jobs or get their new endeavors a head start, I will do. Here are a few ways I can help anyone who is looking for new opportunities within the pharma space:

Make My Pharma Social Network Work for You: If you are reading this, you are probably a proponent of social networking. By all means, update your profile on LinkedIn and get a Facebook page. But also consider the Forums at Pharma Marketing Network if you wish to have a platform to draw attention to yourself as an expert in pharmaceutical marketing. See "An Online Community to Call Our Own" for more information about this social network for pharma marketers.

Ways in which the Forums can help:

• Post your resume to the Jobs Exchange Forum -- no charge!
• Volunteer to be a moderator of one of the many discussion forums and post your opinions and other information relevant to the topic area of the forum. There are forums devoted to DTC, physician marketing, eMarketing, CME, etc. The more you post, the more search engine visibility you get and the more people will read your Forum profile, which can include your bio and other information you wish to share. Potential employers and business partners may be among the 80,000 monthly visitors to the Forums site. Contact me (johnmack@virsci.com) if you are interested in learning more about becoming a Forum moderator.
• Join the Pharma Marketing Network Roundtable and be cited as an expert in Pharma Marketing News articles. The Roundtable is my advisory board that I go to first when I need expert opinion on a range of topics covered in my newsletter. It's an exclusive group of people who work inside pharmaceutical companies and in agencies or consultancies that service the pharmaceutical industry. The Roundtable Discussion Forum is a members-only, password protected forum where Roundtable members can post their opinions within a trusted community. You can use the social networking tools available to build a "buddy" list for exchanging personal messages. Apply to be a member here.
  

Be a guest on Pharma Marketing Talk live Internet talk show, which is also archived as a podcast. I am hosting a series of interviews of Pharma eMarketing Pioneers and would like to talk with you if you think you are a pioneer, whether you are currently employed or not. Apply to be a guest here.

I am sorry that I cannot do more. Good luck!

IgniteBlog's Fabio Gratton Used to be Tom Cruise's Personal Assistant

There are only 3 degrees of separation between me and Kevin Bacon! I know and have hung out with Fabio Gratton, who was Tom Cruise's personal assistant, and Tom Cruise was in the movie A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon!

Fabio, as you may know, founded Ignite Health, a technology-based healthcare communications [got to correct the spelling on your LinkedIn page, Fabio] agency committed to innovating healthcare marketing. He is also the author of IgniteBlog.

Anyway, for those who care, here's Fabio's complete work history as outlined on his personal web site:

• First job: mowing lawns (paid for my first scooter)
• Second job: creating logos for my dad's company (healthcare)
• Third job: Kinney Shoes (Yes, fitting shoes for smelly feet)
• Fourth job: Mario's Restuarant, Westwood Village (fired because they thought I was stealing money from the cash register)
• Fifth job: UCLA Alumni Annual Fund (sucked)
• Sixth job: Intern at Paramount Pictures Story Department (learned everything I ever needed to know about screenwriting)
• Seventh job: Personal assistant to Tom Cruise (he was good to me)
• Eighth job: Fair-Riley-Call / Bozell (healthcare advertising)
• Ninth job: Started Ignite Health (never looked back)

Fabio also created this rebus, which I saw on a MM&M Webcast about Pharma eMarketing ROI (see "Do Privacy Concerns Stand in the Way of Measuring Pharma eMarketing ROI?"). Can you tell me what "It" is?

The Problem with Print Media Blogs

I've often criticized "blogs" owned by the print media (ie, newspapers) as not being in the same category as "traditional" blogs written by individuals. For one thing, editorial policies that rule these "media blogs" often do not allow readers to "look under the curtain" that news organizations place around the news.

Another problem, which I have often noticed with media blogs, is that they tend to write about the same topic at the same time! You can see this graphically by accessing PharmaMarketingNetwork's Pagecast, which I maintain.

The following was recently captured from that page:

At the time these images were captured, Wall Street Journal Health Blog and Pharmalot -- the two most popular print news media blogs in the Pharma Blogosphere -- simultaneously had these as their top posts. This happens often.

A similar phenom can be seen in the evening network news programs on TV. You can flip through the channels and see the same story running at the same time on all three networks (you can also see the same drug DTC ads running at the same time on all three networks!).

The WSJ Health Blog got some criticism at a recent meeting of the Society for Scholarly Publishing (see this post). WSJ Blog author Scott Hensley admitted that "some in the audience grumbled that the way we do things — a generally news-driven rather than an opinion blog — isn’t bloggy enough for their taste." He also called attendees "Egghead Editors and Publishers" and the "brainy bunch," which generally are derogatory terms meant to put smart people in their place, if you know what I mean. Yet, Scott claims that his blog "is building a community of smart readers." Seems to me, Scott, you can't build a community of smart people and insult the whole class of smart people as "eggheads" at the same time.

Of these two blogs, I like Pharmalot best because I get Ed Silverman's -- the author's -- personal point of view on the news. With the WSJ Health Blog, I just get the news -- which is fine if you want a Cliff Notes version of the WSJ's printed health section.

Pharmalot is also more creative, especially with its use of graphics. Hey, WSJ guys! Get with the 21st Century -- it's a colorful world out there. You have to break out of the B&W etch-a-sketch portraits that your print brethen are so proud of. Maybe Mr. Murdock will read this and bring some color to the WSJ front page and to the WSJ Health Blog too!

Is a 3rd-Party "Seal of Approval" for Health Blogs Necessary?

Fard Johnmar, founder of healthcare marketing communications consultancy Envision Solutions, LLC and author of the blog HealthCareVox, just released results of a new study of the Health Blogosphere. Here are some snippets form the press release:

"According to a national survey we commissioned, the U.S. adult health blogging population currently stands at 13.6 million. (We defined health bloggers as people writing on blogs where at least at least 50% of posts focus on health-related topics.) In addition, the majority of health bloggers are female and 38% are either African American or Hispanic.

"Marketing activity taking place in the health blogosphere has increased. For example, the number of bloggers reporting inquiries from public relations professionals jumped 57% between 2006 and 2007. Also, respondents were more likely to report running advertising on their Weblogs.

Of course, these marketing trends will be cause for concern for some. However there is evidence many bloggers are operating ethically. Most respondents view statements by their peers critically. Yet the majority have great confidence health bloggers routinely disclose apparent and implied conflicts of interest.

Overall, these two studies indicate that the state of the health blogosphere is strong. Millions of Americans are writing health blogs. In addition, many are operating ethically."

However, at least one-third (34%) of respondents have low confidence that healthcare bloggers disclose conflicts of interest and about the same feel that running advertising on blogs negatively affects credibility (an equal number strongly disagree). [Compare these results with the 2007 Pharma Blogosphere Survey.]

At least one commenter to Fard's post announcing the report suggested that a "smidgen of regulatory oversight" might be called for:

"Seems to me that a 'credentialing' function or disinterested 3rd party seal of approval may filter the credible sites from the pumping crowd.

Privacy, legal and veracity issues notwithstanding, the horse is no doubt 'running on the range'. The question seems to be: how will market forces, tempered by voluntary enforcement of a code of ethics, coupled perhaps with a smidgen of regulatory oversight coalesce into an aggregate voice in the interest of public health?" -- Gregg Masters

[I note with amusement, that when you click on Gregg's name, you are brought to the site preferredhospitals.com -- "Your trusted source for value in hospital and physician services..." -- which has no information about who produces the site, what the privacy policy is, and what, if any, conflicts of interest may exist.]

Is a "Seal of Approval" Needed for Health Blogs?
	No, we don't need no stinkin' seal!
	Yes, it is imperative!
	Can't say one way or another
	Maybe not a seal, but a "credo" or guidelines with signatories -- like the PhRMA Code