CNTO411: A New Pharmaceutical Company Blog

Centocor -- a J&J company that was the first to produce a feature length disease awareness documentary ("Innerstate") -- has just launched a new corporate blog that may break new ground in pharmaceutical company blogging. It's called "CNTO411".

The brains and bloggers behind CNTO411 are Melissa Katz, Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Centocor and her boss, Michael Parks, Vice President of Corporate Communications.

Here's an excerpt from the Inaugural Blog Posting:

“Why Centocor?” and “Why now?” Many of you may read John Mack’s blog, Pharma Marketing Blog. Almost a year ago, he blogged about the first of its kind patient education documentary film we made called Innerstate ( “No Oscar for Centocor PR Effort” [Feb. 26] and “The Innerstate DVD. Is TV Next?” [May 21]). Michael Parks, our VP of Communications who also produced the film, broke the traditional news comment mold and used the blog forum to respond to the comment and correct some inaccuracies by putting forth Centocor’s perspective and facts. In addition, he treated this blogger as we did every other journalist and let him screen the film. These small acts may appear to the casual observer to be incidental transactions, but for us, it was a big deal. Why? Because by engaging in a dialogue with John Mack in real time, he was able to immediately correct mis-information, provide the facts, and thus, give John a reason to restate his perspective.

How could he do that? Is that allowed? Should we be doing that? And what will the backlash be? Nobody knew. But that’s what pioneers do: they forge a path through the wilderness and hope they aren’t going to fall over a cliff.

I am flattered to be mentioned in this first post to CNTO411 and to be an inspiration for its launch. You can read more about my relationship to Michael, Melissa, and Innerstate on Pharma Marketing Blog (see "CNTO411: Centocor's Groundbreaking Blog").

I will be interviewing Melissa in a Pharma Marketing Talk podcast on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2 PM. To learn more about this and get instructions for listening in and participating in this podcast, please click here.

Of course, Melissa and Michael owe a lot to Marc Monseau who started up the J&J corporate blog, JNJ BTW, in June 2007 (see "'Round the Sphere: Pharmaco Blogs and Carlat's Crusade").

Michael and Melissa promise to comment on Centocor product-specific news or issues on CNTO411, which would make it the first pharmaceutical blog to do so for prescription drugs, which are heavily regulated. How they plan to do this without "falling over a cliff" remains to be seen (REMICADE is mentioned in the inaugural posting). I hope Melissa will share some insights on that in my upcoming podcast interview.

The Tortured Tchotchke and the Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway

Pharmalot and Pharma Marketing Blog have both reported on FDA's letter to Scios "requesting" that it cease dissemination of violative Natrecor computer mouse pad and pen tchotchkes that it has been giving as gifts to physicians.

The mouse pad is pictured at the left.

FDA cited these baubles as "inappropriate reminder labeling." Read more what the FDA said here.

Speaking of "reminders," all this language and imagery reminds me of waterboarding and the recent confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey, who has refused to categorically reject the practice as torture.

More importantly, however, is the "gift" that FDA gave Scios: about two weeks to "respond" to the FDA complaint with a "plan" for how it will comply. Who knows what the plan's timeline for compliance will be, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Scios reps were able to unload ALL the Natrecor tchotches stockpiled in their garages by Thanksgiving, thus saving Scios a lot of money, which could be used to buy holiday turkeys for ALL Scios employees!

Thank you, FDA!

P.S. Drug Rep Toys, for once didn't scoop us on this!

Clara Barton to be Exhumed to Testify at JNJ v ARC Trial!

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) claims that "Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross (ARC), signed an agreement in 1895 that acknowledged the company's exclusive right to use a red cross on 'chemical, surgical, pharmaceutical goods of every description.'" (See Bloomberg News story here.)

Whoa! J&J sure is bringing out the BIG guns leading up to what promises to be the drug company trial of the century!

I just wish there could be cameras in the court room!

They are doing amazing things with technology these days. I recall a 1997 TV ad showing Fred Astaire -- who died in 1987 -- dancing with a vacuum cleaner!

Imagine if J&J's lawyers could exhume Ms. Barton -- digitally, of course -- and have her testify at the trial -- via video feed, of course! What would we see? Here's just one scenario:

Clive Whitshoe, chief J&J counsel, approached the witness -- actually a TV monitor precariously sitting upon the witness stand.

"Welcome to the 21st Century, Ms. Barton," Whiteshoe cooed. "It's a pleasure having you here."

"It's pleasure to be here ... I think," Barton replied. Her left eye twitched nervously, reminding Whiteshoe of the nervous Commissioner Charles Dreyfus confronting Chief Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movie.

"I have only one question to ask, Ms. Barton. I know you'd like to get back to your final resting place," said Whiteshoe.

"Objection!," cried Owen DoGood, counsel for the defense. "My obscene colleague is conjecturing!"

"Whatever," sighed Judge Blackthorn. "Get on with your question counselor!"

"Yes, surely," said Whiteshoe. "Your honor, I would like to place this document into evidence," he said approaching the judge with a fragile, yellowed scrap of paper.

After a few legal motions back and forth, the paper was allowed into evidence and Whiteshoe approached virtual Ms. Barton.

"Ms. Barton, do you recognize this parchment?," he asked the witness while holding up the sheet to the monitor's built-in Webcam.

"Yes, I do," said Barton after what appeared to be a rather close examination.

"Would you please read the second paragraph out loud, beginning with the words 'The American Red Cross hereby...,'" instructed Whiteshoe.

"The American Red Cross," Barton read, "hereby grants to the Johnson and Johnson ethical drug and elixir company exclusive right to use a red cross on all chemical, surgical, pharmaceutical goods of every description."

"And is that your signature at the bottom?," asked Whiteshoe.

Barton nodded her head.

"Please answer 'Yes' or 'No'. Ms. Barton," said the Judge, "for the record."

"Yes," said Barton.

"No further questions, your honor," declared Whiteshoe.

"Mr. DoGood, do you have any questions for this witness?," asked the judge.

"No questions, your honor," whispered DoGood.

"THE PLAINTIFF RESTS!", Whiteshoe shouted triumphantly!

"And so do I," said Ms. Barton as her image faded away and she rejoined the spirit world.

Introducing Ray Jordan, J&J PR Veep, Winemaker!

Every once in a while we are treated to a story that keeps on getting better. Such is the case with the J&J Red Cross Curfuffle.

Yesterday, I summarized what several other bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere had to say about this (see "Blogger Brouhaha Over the Cross") and today, over at Pharma Marketing Blog, I concluded that the biggest mistake J&J made was to let the lawyers run wild while key PR people were away on vacation (see "J&J Lawyers Go Wild; PR on Vacation!").

When I wrote that, I had no idea who Ray Jordan was -- Ray, you remember, was the person who wrote J&J's response to the Red Cross Curfuffle in the JNJ BTW Blog (read that response here and also here).

Being a blogger and not a journalist, I didn't check my facts nor did I even bother to find out who Ray was. But Scott Hensley over at the WSJ Health Blog did the job for me (see "J&J Versus Red Cross: Blog Edition"). Scott uncovered the fact that Ray Jordan is a winemaker and has been blogging on that subject since 2003! Plus, Scott provided hints where we can find Ray's bio (here t is), which isn't included on the JNJ BTW blog site!

Ray, like many people in pharma corporate communications, began his career as a reporter for a regional daily newspaper. [Just like Ed Silverman!] Ray then made an early career move into finance and systems analysis of business and marketing processes, first with Bristol-Myers.

Just out of curiosity: What percentage of all phrama corporate communications people start out as "unbiased" journalists?

But the most interesting thing about Ray is his passion for wine! His blog is called Chez Ray Winemaking and it is quite neat!

[I won't make any jokes about making wine while J&J burned on the cross!]

Here's Ray with some friends.

"At a recent dinner where the 2006 line of Mollydooker Wines were being unveiled," says Ray, "I had a rare chance to spend a few minutes in conversation with Sparky Marquis, CEO and Winemaker at Mollydooker."

You know, now that I think of it, I know Ray!

He used to work at Pfizer, according to his bio. I met him when he worked there! At the time, I was president of the Internet Healthcare Coalition (IHCC) and Ray was interested in helping that non-profit organization. [BTW, IHCC never licensed any J&J trademarks to 3rd party retailers.]

Remember me, Ray!

It's nice for me to connect a name with a face and learn about Ray's life interests outside of being a pharmaceutical company spokesperson!

P.S. Ray, how about sending me a case of your 2006 vintage!

P.P.S. You know I' kidding, right? BTW, I agree with Fard Johnmar who said in a post today "This, my friends is what corporate blogging [typos and all! -- my comment added] should be all about. Reading the tea leaves, responding quickly and having the courage to grapple with the tough issues of the day."

Blogger Brouhaha Over the Cross

Never has there been such a brouhaha over the Red Cross since Turkey's Red Crescent was accepted as an additional symbol of the International Red Cross Movement at the Geneva Convention of 1929.

At issue is J&J's decision to sue the American Red Cross (ARC) for unauthorized license of the famous symbol to third-party, for-profit organizations selling products like baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers.

The blogs within the Pharma Blogosphere that have written about this include:

• Pharmalot (J&J Sues Red Cross Over Its Symbol and here with a poll)
• NRx formerly known as BrandweekNRx (Red Cross sued over its - Red cross!)
• WSJ Health Blog (Red Cross Gets Crosswise With J&J -- this has to be the best blog post title!
• Pharm Aid (Red Cross Sued by J&J?)
• Impactiviti Blog (How to get Entangled in a No-win Situation: J&J sues the Red Cross)

And probably a few more that I left out.

Some blogger comments include:

"I actually sympathize with J&J's business stance here," says Steve Woodruff over at Impactiviti blog. He adds "As with the recent case of Novartis and the Indian government, some cases brought as a matter of principle (and I’m sure the profit motive wasn't absent, of course - this is business), to try to settle long-term case law, will bring plenty of short-term odium."

Most other bloggers agreed that this was not a good PR move by J&J. Ed Silverman at Pharmalot merely said "This can't be a good public relations move." He then proceeds to summarize the facts.

In a followup post, Silverman says "J&J, like any company, is entitled to defend its property, including trademarks. But in an environment where big drugmakers are regularly criticized for putting profits over patients, does it make sense to run to court and take on an institution that, for many Americans, is seen as an angel who appears in time of need?"

Ed asked readers to vote on the issue. As of this writing, 57% of respondents to Pharmalot's poll -- not a scientific study! -- think J&J should have sued.

POLL UPDATE: Late results from Ed's poll indicate a reversal: 57% now think J&J should NOT have sued ARC!

Peter Rost, on the other hand, disagrees and had this to say in his NRx blog post: "So seriously folks: Is this about the most foolish PR move by any drug company this year? Or is it the worst move in a decade???"

One commenter pointed out that Rost did not balance his post with the other side of the issue: "If the blogger had done his research, he would have included that the Red Cross is licensing, for profit, the cross symbol out to companies whose products directly compete with those of J&J."

In JNJ BTW's Court?
JNJ BTW Blog's response as of this writing has been nil (see P.P.P.S. below). Marc Monseau's last post entitled "A Word or Two More About This Week's News..." is NOT about the Red Cross flap, but about J&J's "cost reduction plans,' which is soooo old news dude!

P.S. After I posted this, I noticed that Fard Johnmar over at HealthcareVOX suggested that Marc Monseau post something on his blog even if it's "commentary from someone knowledgeable about it. Depending on what he says," said Fard, "this move could help mitigate some of the bad press the company is currently receiving and significantly elevate the influence of J&J's corporate blog."

P.P.S. I think the train has already left the station!

P.P.P.S. Maybe J&J caught the train after all! I just read this JNJ BTW post "You're Doing What?!" It wasn't written by Marc Monseau, but by Ray Jordan, who I don't know (he is not listed in the "About the Authors" section of the blog).

As I suspected, Marc is on vacation, according to Mr. Jordan: "Our small media relations group was reduced even further by summer vacations (including Marc Monseau, who does double duty as our chief resident blogger – that's why I'm pinch-hitting this posting). Nonetheless, we felt most every journalist we engaged with (including bloggers) gave fair hearing to both sides of this matter." [BTW, no one at J&J "engaged" with me yet. Maybe they spoke to Peter Rost?]

"So," says Ray, "I've now lived a classic corporate public affairs nightmare: announcing a lawsuit against the American Red Cross."

Disclosure: Both Fard Johnmar and I have had a number of unofficial conversations with Monseau about his blog and the company's social media communications strategy, but none on this subject.

J&J Moving Towards "The Naked Pharma"

Johnson & Johnson's new corporate blog, JNJ BTW, deserves close scrutiny as Marc Monseau -- J&J's Corporate Communications Director and main author of JNJ BTW -- finds his "blogger legs" and continues to interact with other bloggers. It is truly an interesting experiment the like of which I haven't seen since the early to mid 90's when individuals within pharma companies launched and maintained their corporate websites with very little oversight from top management.

DISCLOSURE: I know Marc personally and have had several confidential discussions with him about blogging.

Recently, JNJ BTW was criticized by Jim Edwards of BrandweekNRX and compared to the Soviet era Pravda newspaper (read his post "J&J's New Corporate Blog: Is It Any Good?"). Marc not only responded to this criticism in a comment to Jim's post, but he also wrote a response in JNJ BTW itself (see "…And Speaking of Work") where he does a good job defending himself.

Not only is Marc responding to blogger criticism, he is also learning from it, I think. He agreed, for example, with my advice to include stories from J&J's rank and file employees (see "Advice to All Pharma PR Bloggers Out There"). Here's what he said about that:

John Mack also recently provided an assessment of JNJ BTW on his Pharma Marketing Blog. In it, he advised me and other corporate bloggers to try to bring in other voices from within their respective organizations.

Good advice. It’s actually something I’ve intended to do since I started JNJ BTW.

Just as there are “eight million stories in the naked city,” there are countless stories to be told by the folks who work at Johnson & Johnson or any corporation. I hope to soon have other people from Johnson & Johnson join me on JNJ BTW as guests to talk about some of the things they’ve been working on their personal experiences.

OK. I'll buy that Marc already had plans to do what I suggested. But I made this suggestion some time ago before I even knew Marc (see "A Primer on Pharma Employee Blogging").

Marc's reference to the noir film The Naked City -- which was inspired by 30's photographer Weegee (the photo above was shot by Weegee) -- is not only apt, but sheds some light on Marc's interests, which I know include films. It's apt because good corporate blogs have been described as "naked conversations" in a book by the same name. [Maybe Marc should rename his blog "The Naked J&J". Just kiddin' Marc!]

The Naked City movie is pretty gruesome as were some of Weegee's photos. Hopefully, we won't see JNJ BTW evolve into that dark realm.

I also hope that JNJ Blog doesn't go the way of pharmaceutical corporate Web sites. In the 90's not too many pharma C-level execs thought too much about the Internet and they were blissfully unaware that their companies even had a Web site. But they soon wised up and took control and what we are left with today are glossy online brochures without souls.

It would definitely be a shame if one day J&J did the same to JNJ BTW. I am sure there are controls already in place just as Marc says. I don't want to hear from corporate J&J. I like hearing from Marc, a real person who signs his posts and reveals snippets of who he is. I hope other employees at J&J will soon join Marc.

'Round the Sphere: Commies, Canadians, and Death by Drugs!

This week, the Pharma Blogosphere was abuzz about the two death sentences handed down to two of China's former high-ranking food and drug safety officials. One was just executed as reported in the Wall Street Journal Health Blog and Pharmalot.

It is said that injection by lethal drugs is becoming the standard method of carrying out the death penalty in China (see "Chinese applaud ex-official's execution").

Meanwhile, other supposedly non-lethal drugs have lead to the death of a Canadian citizen -- "first clear-cut case of a death stemming from counterfeit drugs bought on the Internet."

Of course, a chief wanker at Drug Wankers couldn't hold back the gloating to respond to the age-old re-importation retort" "Oh, Yeah. If Canadian drugs are dangerous, where are the dead Canadians?"

Expect Pitts et al to refer to this case again and again and again and again... did I mention again? in the diatribes against re-importation.

Meanwhile, the other Peter (Peter Rost), was quoted in Forbes pointing out the irony:

"The FDA recently put out a warning on the dangers of Internet medicines. Peter Rost, a former Pfizer executive whose blog is an annoyance to drug execs, notes an "irony" in the situation: that the first victim of drug reimportation lives in Canada, and got a drug that is not approved there but is available to the rest of the world."

In his own blog, Peter suggests that rather than an argument AGAINST re-importation, this event is really an argument FOR re-importation!:

"So now all the reactionary elements in American politics will claim drug reimportation claimed its first life. I'm sure they think it is too bad it wasn't American blood.

"Of course there is a logical solution to all this. Make drug importation legal and regulated the trade, so that people don't go on the Internet when their money dries up."

Speaking of China, Canadians and Other "Commies"

Of course, Canadians are not really commies. They just have a commie medical system according to the wankers among us.

It's one thing to stretch the commie analogy to describe the Canadian healthcare system, but it's another to accuse J&J's corporate blog of being the "Pravda of J&J." But that is exactly what Jim Edwards over at BrandweekNRX did!

Ouch! Tough love indeed!

But let's look at the glass half-full instead of half-empty, shall we?

Did you know, for example, that Pravda is the Russian word for "The Truth"? I bet you dinnit! Marc Monseau, the author of JNJ BTW, might take some comfort from being labeled "The Truth of J&J." At least he wasn't called the "CNN of J&J," which might be a much less flattering comparison.

But Jim has a point. If a corporate blog remains silent on issues roiling around it, then suspicions are aroused. It's best to say something, even if it is to refer to the official company press release, which is some form of "truth" if not absolute truth. I suspect that's what Pravda would do.

Of course, this is not what we expect of blogs. But what should we expect from a blog like JNJ BTW?

You can read more about my opinion on that subject in Pharma Marketing Blog (see "Advice to All Pharma PR Bloggers Out There").

Jim Edwards and the Girl Scout Cookie Monster Sudafed Mashup!

Recently, the Pharma Blogosphere has been awash boondoggles, capers, and scandals. First there was the Buckets of Cash Zubillaga Affair and the Cupcakes in the Waiting Room Caper, now there's the Girl Scout Cookie Monster Sudafed Mashup!

Jim Edwards of BrandweekNRX posted a correction of sorts to an article he wrote in BrandWeek a while back entitled "Who's at the Door? J&J With Your Meds." In that article, Jim said: "Johnson & Johnson wants to turn Girl Scout troops into 'drug dealers' - but it's all for a good cause."

This apparently, riled the J&J PR people according to Jim.

"To my surprise," claims Jim, "McNeil was furious, and I got an earful from one of their PR people about a day after it came out. 'We're not trying to turn Girl Scouts into drug dealers," they fumed. "We demand a correction.'"

You can read all about -- from Jim's perspective -- here on BrandweekNRX.

Of course, a "correction" is impossible after the cat is already out of the bag. Or should I say, cookie already out of the jar? Jim's piece was picked up by the press in stories entitled "Girl Scouts Selling Drugs?" And the rest, as they say, is history.

What Hat Are Journalist Bloggers Wearing Today?
Edwards says this is a "Lesson in How Media Viruses Work." Hmmm... it's also a lesson on how journalists can be "corrupted" by the loose standards of bloggers, IMHO. I mean, as a blogger, you might get away with using sensational or "flippant" phrases to capture readers' attention, but a journalist is held to a higher standard. In Brandweek, Jim is a journalist, in BrandweekNRX, he is a blogger. Could it be that he forgot which hat he was wearing when he wrote the original story?

BTW, there's nothing about this on JNJ BTW, J&J's PR blog, which I think is a shame. That's what a corporate blog should be for -- you got to get your voice out there in the blogosphere and not just let it come through filtered by us bloggers.

P.S. Proving once again that great minds think alike, Jack Friday just reminded me about his post on the J&J Girl Scout story. His post uses the same Girl Scout image as this one! I swear i did not intentionally copy Jack, but it must have registered in my mind when I picked up the image elsewhere by Google search. There is one important difference: Jack combined Pepsid with the cookies, whereas I used a decongestant. Obviously, Pepsid is a better product to use in combination with cookies, although I suppose if you are allergic to cookies, a decongestant might help.

'Round the Sphere: Pharmaco Blogs and Carlat's Crusade

Recently, two pharmaceutical company blogs have officially entered the Pharma Blogosphere: Johnson & Johnson's "JNJ BTW" and Glaxo's alliConnect. Also new to the Pharma Blogosphere is The Carlat Pschiatry Blog, which we will look at first.

The Carlat Pschiatry Blog
This blog was started by Daniel Carlat, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report. Dr. Carlat gained some notoriety by writing a NY Times OpEd piece entitled "Diagnosis: Conflict of Interest" in which he characterized pharma-sponsored Continuing Medical education (CME) as "a new twist on that well-known instrument of corruption, money laundering" (for more on that, see "Welcome to the CME Laundomat!").

Carlat says he decided to start his blog "in order to follow up on some buzz generated by [his op-ed piece] in which [he] recommended that industry-sponsored CME activities no longer receive accreditation from the ACCME." He asks readers to join his crusade:

"If you have seen any examples of obvious commercial bias in educational activities, let me know. Together, we can sniff out the worst offenders, and report them to the ACCME, to the Senate Finance Committee, which released this report, and to whoever else has an interest in improving the ethics of medicine in America."

Dr. Carlat will be a guest on an upcoming Pharma Marketing Talk podcast where I will ask him if he's had any success in his crusade to date. Everyone is welcome to listen in on July 10, 2006 (more information here).

JNJ BTW
JNJ BTW is a corporate communications blog that was started up by our friend Marc Monseau, director of media relations at J&J. Recall that Marc reached out to several bloggers and invited several to dinner at a restaurant in NYC (see "Should Bloggers Dine at Pharma's Table?").

Why "BTW"? I don't know. Marc doesn't say.

BTW, results from a readers survey shed some light on pharma's penchant for wining and dining physicians as well as us bloggers. See charts below.

According to Marc's welcome message:

Everyone else is talking about our company, so why can’t we? There are more than 120,000 people who work for Johnson & Johnson and its operating companies. I’m one of them, and through JNJ BTW, I will try to find a voice that often gets lost in formal communications.

This is a big step for us as a company. Anyone working for a large corporation will appreciate that there are many internal limitations on what we say and how we say it.

I’ve been reading blogs for only a few months now, but already it’s clear to me how important it is not just to watch, but to join in productively. Doing that will take some unlearning of old habits and traditional approaches to communicating — and I will have to find my own voice.

On JNJ BTW, there will be talk about Johnson & Johnson — what we are doing, how we are doing it and why. There will be comment on the news about our company and the industry — occasionally correcting any mistakes (not that that ever happens!) or simply providing more context. I hope and expect that some of my colleagues will eventually join me on this blog.

We may not always be able to talk about product-specific issues, news from our operating companies or issues that fall under regulatory or legal constraints. But we’re going to do what we can to talk openly, directly and to the best of our knowledge. I’m sure we will learn more as we blog, so keep in mind that nothing on JNJ BTW is set in stone.

Although Marc has made relatively few posts so far, already he may have gotten in a bit over his head if the following comment is an indication:

marcus aurelius Says:
June 19th, 2007 at 7:45 pm

Just to clarify:

Other than the fact that both the Johnson & Johnson Co. and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) were both founded by Robert Wood Johnson, and current RWJF board members are former board members and/or executives of the Johnson & Johnson Company, and RWJF is the single largest private shareholder ($5.4 billion 2004) of J & J stock…..there is no connection.

Does that sound about right?

The comment did not address any remarks that Marc made on the blog. The author merely took Marc up on his willingness to fully disclose conflicts of interest and obviously has a bone to pick with J&J over its control of the RWJF.

Comments Policy
Here's a synopsis of JNJ BTW's policy on comments:

All comments will be reviewed before posting. Since this blog is about Johnson & Johnson, comments that don't directly relate to the Company or to topics covered on this blog won't be posted [Marc, you shouldn't have posted that comment by marcus aurelius!]. That said, some comments may be forwarded to other people within the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies for follow-up as appropriate.

We generally won’t post comments about products that are sold by the Johnson & Johnson operating companies.

...comments that pertain to ongoing legal matters or regulatory issues are unlikely to be posted.

alliConnect is GlaxoSmithKline's official corporate blog for alli. According to the about statement, "It's a place for you to have a conversation with us about weight loss issues." It does warn visitors, however, that there are a few rules: "Because we work for a drug company we do have to abide by a few rules."

OK, I'll bite. Let's look at the rules. The "Legal Stuff" started out short and to the point:

"This blog is written by employees of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare who are authorized to speak on behalf of the company.

Our posts and answers to your comments reflect our company's point of view. They are based on the latest in science and what we've learned from talking to consumers.

When we offer personal points of views, or talk about our experience with alli, we'll make sure that's clear."

Interestingly, I noticed a few comments made by other members of the Pharma Blogosphere, such as Jack Friday of PharmaGossip, who had this to say:

Hey guys,

Welcome to the blogosphere.

My guess, Steve, is that you are excited about the early sales peak but are now scared that you may have underplayed the "treatment effects" - hence all the "oops" references on the blog as you try and mentally compensate.

Add to this the $150 million spend and...... well anyone would have an oops moment or two!

The blog idea is a good one.

Cheers

Unfortunately, there was no response from "The Alli first team."

'Round the Sphere: Moore (sic) Movies, Avandia Avalanche

Several new Moore SiCKO sightings, news, and video clips have been posted by bloggers in the Pharma Blogosphere^TM.

PharmaGossip posted several links to reviews in the press as well as a video clip (trailer) from the movie (see "SiCKO - what the papers say").

Most reviews are pretty positive. I haven't seen one inch devoted to what the movie says about the pharmaceutical industry. Moore seems mostly concerned with hospitals and insurance companies as the bad guys.

I am still trying to get a screening for us pharma bloggers (see "Mr. Moore Don't Ignore: Please Invite Me to a Screening of Your Movie") and have made some progress on that front that I will be able to talk about later.

Drug Wonks, those "Tricky Wonkers" who attempted a "Wonky PR Trick" pre-debut, has been quiet apres le debut -- I guess all the positive media reviews (even from conservative FOX!) is too much for these PR wonks to spin in the opposite direction!

For a treasure trove of SiCKO blog links (mostly outside our sphere of influence), take a look at this Google Blog Search page.

INNERSTATE: Is it DTC Advertising?
SiCKO wasn't the only movie on pharma bloggers's minds this week. Centocor's 58-minute disease awareness documentary INNERSTATE was also a hot topic in the Sphere.

After finally seeing the movie, Pharm Aid was enthusiastic about it:

"Johnson & Johnson has a long history these kind of broader issues-based campaigns. Since the J&J product, Remicade, is never mentioned in the film and no treatment option is pushed (contrary to Avorn’s comments that this is a “commercial”), it’s not clear if J&J is thinking of InnerState as an issues campaign or if this is more traditional product push."

Unfortunately, as I pointed out on Pharma Marketing Blog and as Ed Silverman pointed out on Pharmalot, INNERSTATE may actually be a commercial. True, the movie itself never mentions Remicade (Centocor's product), but, according to evidence submitted to me by SEIU Local 32BJ, Remicade product information -- a medication guide -- was distributed at a showing of the movie in the King of Prussia Mall in PA in April. I also received the INNERSTATE DVD in the mail containing this product information along with the movie. IMHO, this makes the entire campaign a DTC promotion rather than an unbranded disease awareness campaign, which is how it has been generally described in the press and on other blogs.

Of course, SEIU Local 32BJ has a bone to pick with J&J and has sent letters to FDA and PhRMA claiming that Centocor is in violation of FDA regulations and PhRMA DTC guidelines. However, as I explained to the union's representative, I do not believe Centocor is in violation because it included all the necessary fair balance information.

Anyway, you can find all sides of the story here, including a lengthy statement from Michael Parks, Centocor's Director of Public Relations, and Executive Producer of INNERSTATE. This level of engagement with bloggers is unprecedented and earns Centocor kudos from me.

Avandia Avalanche
As expected, many pharma bloggers have precipitated an avalanche of posts about Avandia, which is being characterized in the press and on blogs as the Vioxx II.

While I love to see a big pharmaceutical company squirm -- especially a British pharma company -- as much as the next American guy, I offered GSK some advice on how to handle the situation. See "Advice to GSK on Handling the Avandia Avalanche: Don't Do What Merck Did".

Steve Woodruff from Impactiviti Blog added his own piece of advice in a comment to my post:

Make a Public Pledge

Something along these lines: "According to the information we have right now, we are convinced that Avandia is a safe and effective treatment. However if, in collaboration with the FDA and clinical researchers, we come to the conclusion in the future that this (or any) drug that we offer has risks that outweigh its benefits, we will immediately withdraw it from the market."

- Take a strong stand based on current information
- Show openness to the implications of new (well-founded) information
- Follow through on the pledge no matter what the cost

This kind of no-nonsense stance, joined to responsible disclosure and clear communication to the marketplace, will go a long way toward countering the negative view of "Big Pharma" - particularly when there are Vioxx-type side effect problems...

Be sure to visit Impactiviti Blog for more insights on GSK.

Meanwhile, Drug Wonks has an interesting perspective on why the Avandia story is breaking now. See "Sneak Attack on PDUFA," which should be stored under "it ain't over until the fat (diabetic) lady sings."

'Round the Sphere: J & J Dinner Brouhaha, von Eschenbashing

The BIG gossip item this week in The Pharma Blogosphere is the J&J blogfest at an upscale restaurant in NYC.

Since my post exploring the "ethics" of bloggers who write about the drug industry accepting a free dinner from a major pharmaceutical company (see "Should We Dine at Pharma's Table?"), there have been a few comments from the inner and outer orbs of our sphere.

Peter Rost over at Question Authority (Peter, you're back on the list!) considered it "a terrible snub by J&J and their blog consultant" that he wasn't invited (see "J&J hosts a wild blogger party in New York!" -- thank God for direct links, else you'd have a hard time finding this post among all the self-promotion of Peter's new book!).

Peter can't understand why bloggers he's never heard of and whose blogs are not as big as his (as measured by Alexa traffic ratings) were invited whereas he was not. Peter, don't you get it? Size doesn't matter!

At least not size as measured with a non-pharma stick like Alexa traffic ratings. What's important in The Pharma Blogosphere is how many pharma industry people read your blog. Not only that, but how often they read it and how useful they rate it.

And the First Ever Pharma Blogosphere Reader Survey tells it all: Among pharma respondents who regularly read blogs, Question Authority scored very low in terms of credibility (only 9% of pharma respondents rated your blog somewhat or very credible). Compared to that, here's how pharma respondents rated some other blogs in the Sphere (some of which you claim never to have heard of):

• Pharmalot: 43%
• Pharma Marketing Blog: 42%
• HealthcareVOX: 29%

Fard Johnmar of HealthcareVOX had "A Few Words About The Johnson & Johnson Blogger Dinner" and agrees that there is more to the reach story than numbers:

"Thanks for your post. I'm sorry you've never heard of me, as my blog is read by a number of folks throughout the healthcare industry. As I like to say to my clients, reach is about more than Alexa numbers. I haven't said much about my attendance at the dinner, mainly because I didn't feel like I had to. However, I will say that yes, J&J picked up the tab for my food. I considered it an even exchange, as I got an opportunity to meet some of the folks there and they got to pick my brain about a host of issues relating to social media and healthcare blogs. The fact that I'm not only a blogger, but a communications consultant who works with a number of health companies, including pharma had a little something to do with it as well. In certain cases, I have paid my own way -- primarily when I'm invited to dinner by folks I am covering on my blog. I also regularly disclose apparent or implied conflicts of interest when I'm writing about organizations."

I don't particularly like Fard's defense of silence before he was forced to speak up: "I haven't said much about my attendance at the dinner, mainly because I didn't feel like I had to."

Keeping quiet in the face of criticism can lead to no good as any good corporate communications person will tell you. You've got to be pro-active and that's why I decided to write my post to bring this all out into the open.

The bastion of silence, however, is Peter Pitts, the Drug/PR Wonk. Nary a word about even attending the meeting over at DrugWonks, which is surprising given his tendency to toot his own horn even more than Rost toots his!

So, Fard has accepted the free dinner and is proud of it. Another attendee who accepted is a medical doctor -- Steven F. Palter, MD of the blog DocInTheMachine -- who defended himself this way:

"As far as pay for dinner, nope I did not foot my own bill -- but then again I did not bill them my expenses for travel, my customary hourly consulting fee for industry to pick my brain, nor did I eat the desert- ka-ching. It takes a lot more than a steak and fries with strangers on a precious night off of work to corrupt me and buy my influence. ... Maybe if they flew me to Paris for the dinner..."

Isn't that just typical of a physician? Right out of the pharma industry playbook. BTW, we all know how much it takes to corrupt a physician: no less than $50,000 (see "FDA Advisor Rule Loophole?").

vonEschenbashing
Well, we don't have Les Crawford to kick around anymore, so let's go after his successor, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach.

if you've been cruising around The Pharma Blogosphere as long as I have, you would have found a few warning signs that von Eschenbach isn't quite up to speed yet in his new job as Commish of the FDA. Mark Senak over at EyeOnFDA, for example, wrote a piece about his inept communications skills.

Here's a von Eschenbach quote cited by Mark: "There is reality and then there's perception. Sometimes in this town those two things get confused. The point is, it doesn't matter. For me, if it is a perception, it is important....I want an agency in which people bring different points of view, divergent perspectives...At the end of the day, you make a decision."

To which Mark asks "Reality and perception aren't the only things confused. What the heck does that mean? Does it mean anything?" (see "Perception - Reality: The FDA and the Art of Communications").

Well, Mark, it does mean something: Andy is equivocating and he's done it again this week as pointed out by Ed Silverman at Pharmalot("Despite Denial, FDA Chief Wasn't Misquoted"), Jack Friday at PharmaGossip ("Locker talk with FDA Commish Andy"), and myself at Pharma Marketing Blog ("von Eschenbach & Gonzales: Two Birds in the Same Bush").

This is a very good example how several blogs can tackle the same story from different angles and give you a 360-degree view you'd never get from a single news story. Power to The Blogosphere!

I will leave you with this image (read "von Eschenbach & Gonzales: Two Birds in the Same Bush" if you want to understand what it means):

Should We Dine at Pharma's Table?

Well, I'm back from Florida. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to escape the after effects of the freaky ice storm that hit the Northeast. I've been chopping 6-inch thick solid ice off my driveway since Sunday! It's no fun going to Florida unless you can laugh at your neighbors who had to shovel snow when you didn't!

Not only am I pissed at that, but I missed out on free drinks and dinner at an upscale New York restaurant hosted by J&J PR people. This was an informal get-together of several bloggers, including Ed Silverman of Pharmalot (see "Bloggers Do What?") and Jim Edwards of BrandweekNRX (see "J&J Hosts Blogger Summit. Much Wine Consumed."), among others yet to fess up.

According to Jim Edwards, blogosphere attendees included: "Fard Johnson of Healthcare Vox, Nicholas Genes from MedGadget, Peter Pitts from DrugWonks, Steven Palter from Doc in the Machine and Ed Silverman from Pharmalot. And me."

As pointed out by Jim, I was invited but cancelled at the last minute, thus insuring that everyone else gossiped about me behind my back. I will reveal here the mysterious reason why I cancelled at the last minute. But first, a little history.

Let me confess that I was responsible for the format of this meeting. Marc Monseau, the director of media relations at J&J who organized the meeting of minds, called me sometime in February and wondered if I'd be willing to come by the J&J offices in New Brunswick, NJ to discuss blogging with some people there.

This was a first for me. It sounded like an interesting opportunity, but for what I wasn't sure. Marc really had no agenda or questions he could share beforehand. So, it sounded like a fishing expedition to me.

As you know, I'm a busy guy and I hate day trips without a clear purpose or benefit to me. As I told Marc, I don't work for a large corporation with an expense account. My time is my money.

I asked if I would be compensated for my time, but Marc demurred. So, he suggested meeting for drinks and conversation. Unfortunately, I only drink during dinner. "Make it dinner with those drinks," I said, "and you got yourself a deal!"

An that's how this dinner thing got started. I feel responsible because I am sure that Marc had something much simpler in mind.

Then I cancel!

Anyone with a suspicious mind -- ie, most PR people -- might view my last minute cancellation as an insult or manipulation on my part. After all, now I am writing this piece on bloggers accepting free meals from pharma and I can take the high road because I did not partake.

BTW, I cancelled for personal reasons (think of Alli oops! side effects and you may guess what those reasons were; imagine me eating a huge steak along with Jeff Leebaw!). I also cancelled an appointment with my dentist, which I was looking forward to with as much gusto as the J&J meetup.

So, J&J, please don't hate me!

But the question remains: Should we bloggers dine at pharma's table?

It did cross my mind that this could be an issue when I first suggested dinner, but I thought harder about it after a conversation with Jim Edwards before I left for vacation. He was concerned about how to pay for the dinner because he could not accept such a freebie. I see that he has worked out a way to do it as has Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot.

The majority of attendees of the J&J soiree were PR wonks or journalists -- birds of a feather that the J&J corporate communications people could easily relate to. Only two of the four journalist bloggers that attended have indicated what their policy is regarding accepting free gifts -- including dinner. As yet, I haven't heard from Fard Johnmar or Peter Pitts. [I suspect Pitts often wines and dines at pharma's table and enjoys it very much, thank you!]

Journalists like Ed and Jim just cannot accept any gratuity from the people they may be investigating and writing stories about. That seems pretty clear.

[BTW, I just learned that Ed Silverman is no longer a journalist. But you still work for a newspaper, right? I don't get what it is you are now.]

But bloggers who are not also journalists are a special case. I'm an even more special case -- sort of in between a journalist blogger and an ordinary blogger. I'm a newsletter publisher/blogger. I also wear all the hats, including the business development hat, which requires that I schmooze with advertisers and help them promote their products and services. So, wining and dining with clients and potential clients is something I do all the time.

After my conversation with Jim, the issue of whether or not I should attend was working it's way through my system and probably lead to the Alli-like condition I developed while on vacation (or was it the Dungeness crab I ate? It could happen: see "F.D.A. Warns Against Eating Organs of Crab").

Subconsciously, I was battling whether or not I should attend. For me, as for most independent bloggers, paying for the drinks and dinner out of pocket wasn't an affordable option.

What would I get in return? I've already taken the pulse of pharma's attitude about blogging by meeting and talking with executives at conferences and through personal contacts -- eg, simple phone calls.

I weighed all these factors and decided I would not dine at J&J's table.

What would you have done?