John Mack Quoted in Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine!

I love Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine! I especially like it when they quote me as they did in this month's (June 2007) issue. You'll find me quoted in the article "A Dream Campaign: Takeda's Rozerem ads aren't just fun. They're a new paradigm for insomnia treatment."

The PharmExec article quotes me as saying "While the company is doing a slow buildup, the sales are doing a slow burn." I still stand by that even though Chris Benecchi -- product director for Rozerem marketing -- "claims that the slow build was the plan all along."

But sales of Rozerem are dismal for a product that is ranked #10 in DTC spending for 2006 and I have the data to prove it (nicely plotted in a pie chart).

What galls me are all the articles written in trade publications and the press touting how great the Rozerem campaign is and all the accolades heaped upon the agencies involved.

No one with any pharma industry publishing authority is admitting that the emperor has no clothes. Why is that?

To find out why and get your hands on some sleep aid sales data, read my post to Pharma Marketing Blog: "Rozerem DTC Ads: New Paradigm or Paradox?"

P.S. Needless to say, my blog visits spiked on Monday after the latest issue of Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine "hit the stands." This is a testament to the power of publications like PE. It is a shame, however, that PE and other mainstream publications may be unduly influenced by advertising to such an extent that they cannot pull the wool AWAY from our eyes.

I guess that's why blogs like Pharma Marketing Blog and others in the Pharma Blogosphere are growing in popularity, especially among industry insiders.

An ongoing Pharma Marketing Blog reader survey reveals that over 40% of my readers are employed in the pharmaceutical industry and over 60% of readers are somewhat or very supportive of the drug industry. Keep in mind that the general Pharma Blogosphere Reader Survey characterized Pharma Marketing Blog as "critical" of the industry.

This speaks to the fact that many pharmaceutical people who support the industry would like to read something critical of the industry. Perhaps they learn more from critics than form industry cheerleaders?

Frankly, I think PE (and other industry publications -- I do not want to single out PE) should devote some space in their publication to contrarian views in order to stir the pot!

Dear PE Editor: I am available to write such a column for your publication.

PhotoShop Me a Beaver Contest

So far, there are two entries in the "PhotoShop Me a Beaver" contest (see "Please Photo Shop a Beaver Into This Group Portrait") --

• Pharma Giles (see "We Like Our Beaver").
• PharmaGossip (see "Hey! Pharma Giles - take a look at this beaver shot!").

PharmaGossip also suggested we take a look at this:



Pharma Giles had this to say about PharmaGossip's entry: "Nice beaver! It's so huge! I think you win, Jack..."

Hold on there! I am the decider here!

And I decide that the contest is not over. Now that Peter Rost is back in the blogging game, perhaps he will give it a try?

What about the rules?
Well, there aren't any. You can put a beaver head on one of the ad guys, for example. I have an opinion which guy that should be, but won't say.

I am also opening this up to non-bloggers and anonymous commenters as well. If you have an image you want to enter, just send it to me at johnmack@virsci.com. You can remain anonymous, I promise.

So be creative! And c'mon, there must be some creative types from agencies that compete with Cramer-Krasselt out there! So come on down and show us what you can do!

P.S. I am still on "vacation" in Sunny Isles Beach, FLA. Today I visited the Everglades. While I didn't see any beaver there, I did see a couple of turtles fornicating! So far, that's the highlight of my trip. Tomorrow I see a female impersonator dinner show!

Please Photo Shop a Beaver Into This Group Portrait

These are the guys responsible for the Rozerem DTC ads (see "Takeda - Fire These Guys!"):


Can somebody -- maybe PharmaGossip's "Jack Friday" -- please add the beaver to this portrait?

I don't have the time -- I am off to Miami to lie on the beach!

Pharmablogger Promoted, Rozerem Demoted

Thumbing through The Pharma Blogosphere member list on the right, I decided to see if there were any activity over at Pharmablogger, which has been dormant since November, 2006.

Finally, we hear from this "employee in the Clinical Development area of a large pharmaceutical company" who has "witnessed [his/her] industry manipulate, distort, subvert, suppress, and otherwise mangle facts in pursuit of increasing their consumption of the nation's wealth."

So what's new with Pharmablogger? "Not much. What's new with you?", he/she says.

Thank you for asking. Since you ask, plenty of new things have been happening in the pharma blogosphere if you had been looking. That's why I started this "meta blog" to keep up with it all.

I am sorry to say, however, that Pharmablogger was not included in the first ever survey of the pharma blogosphere (see "Pharma Blogosphere Survey Results - Who and Why?" and "Industry Bias in the Pharma Blogosphere").

I hope you understand ... I thought you were dead or, worse, abandoned your blog! I couldn't ask someone to rate a blog that hadn't anything to say for over 3 months! Maybe next time.

Glad to see you back and up for a promotion!

Boycott Rozerem!
I am trying an experiment. Maybe you can help. I would like to start a grassroots boycott of Rozerem among physicians and have posted a "Dear Doctor" letter over on Pharma Marketing Blog (see "Call for a Rozerem Prescription Boycott!"). I have even created a logo for the boycott:

Here's what I need:

• Join the call for a boycott by posting the "Dear Doctor" letter on your blog. You can also use the logo if you want.
• Ask your doctor if a Rozerem prescribing boycott is right for him or her.

I don't think there's ever been a call for boycotting a prescription drug. Perhaps the drug industry will look upon this as a dangerous precedent. But here's how I look at it: never before have I witnessed a drug company so brazenly push the envelope while denying any responsibility whatsoever -- not once, but several times!

The FDA is powerless to stop Takeda -- NOV letters are mere slaps on the wrist. And PhRMA certainly isn't doing anything. But what may happen sooner rather than later is Congressional action against DTC and this will hurt all of us!

Demand accountability!

Thank you for your kind attention to this rant.

Do You Support a Rozerem Rx Boycott?

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