Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Reforming direct-to-consumer advertising

Why not exploit direct-to-consumer advertising to facilitate patient education about treatments and improve safety monitoring?

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A decade of DTC advertising in the United States.

References

  1. Wolfe, S. N. Engl. J. Med. 346, 524–526 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. http://www.kff.org/rxdrugs/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=14378

  3. Kuehn, B. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 303, 311–313 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lurie, P. J. Law Med. Ethics 37, 444–450 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-6996.pdf

  6. Mack, J. Nat. Biotechnol. 24, 267 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Anonymous. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 87 (2009). <http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/8/09-040809/en/index.html>

  8. Anonymous. Prescription Drugs: Improvements Needed in FDA's Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising. i–48 (US Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2006). <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0754.pdf>.

  9. Donohue, J.M., Cevasco, M. & Rosenthal, M.B. N. Engl. J. Med. 357, 673–681 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Anonymous. Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Prescription Drug Spending (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003). <http://www.kff.org/rxdrugs/upload/Impact-of-Direct-to-Consumer-Advertising-on-Prescription-Drug-Spending-Summary-of-Findings.pdf>.

  11. Law, M. et al. Br. Med. J. 337, a1055 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Mackenzie, F.J. et al. Intern. Med. J. 37, 224–228 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Velo, G. & Moretti, U. Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 66, 626–628 (2008).

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Frosch, D.L. et al. Ann. Fam. Med. 5, 6–13 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Frosch, D.L. et al. Am. J. Public Health 100, 24–32 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Vastag, B. Nat. Biotechnol. 25, 267 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Evans, D. Pfizer broke the law by promoting drugs for unapproved uses. Bloomberg (9 November 2009). <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4yV1nYxCGoA>.

  18. Anonymous. Drug Safety: FDA Has Begun Efforts to Enhance Postmarket Safety, but Additional Actions Are Needed. i–49 (US Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, 2009).

  19. Singer, N. Lawmakers seek to curb drug commercials. New York Times (27 July 2009). <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/business/media/27drugads.html?_r=1&ref=health>.

  20. Shuchman, M. N. Engl. J. Med. 356, 2236–2239 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Liang, B.A. & Mackey, T. Science 327, 273–274 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. http://www.ashp.org/menu/News/PharmacyNews/NewsArticle.aspx?id=3426.

  23. Anonymous Guidance for Industry Format and Content of Proposed Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), REMS Assessments, and Proposed REMS Modification. (US HHS, FDA, CDER, CBER, 2009) <http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/UCM184128.pdf>.

  24. 21 CFR 310.305.

  25. Couzin, J. Science 307, 196–198 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Woloshin, S., Schwartz, L. & Welch, H. Health Aff. W4, 234–245 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Rodwin, M.A. N. Engl. J. Med. 321, 1405–1408 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bryan A Liang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liang, B., Mackey, T. Reforming direct-to-consumer advertising. Nat Biotechnol 29, 397–400 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.1865

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.1865

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research