...Unethical Marketing of Prescription Drugs: Misleading Direct-To-Consumer Advertising and Disease Mongering. October 3, 2011 Unethical Marketing of Prescription Drugs Introduction The purpose of this ethical paper is to investigate the marketing tactics being used by pharmaceutical companies and discuss the ethical issues involved. The primary source of information discussed in this paper was gathered from analysis of business and scholar journals, case studies, and current news articles. The main focus of my research was placed on the unethical practices of pharmaceutical companies and the current marketing regulations in the United States. The unethical practices primarily covered in this paper include disease/fear mongering, and the misuse of direct-to-consumer & physician-directed marketing to increase the profits of pharmaceutical firms. But before we get into the unethical practices taking place in today’s pharmaceutical industry, let’s take a look at the idea of ethics. So, what exactly is ethics? Merriam-Webster defines ethics as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation,” and “a theory or system of moral values” (Merriam-Webster, 2011). As you can see, this is a complex but vague definition to say the least. In today’s world of international business where firms operate across cultural boundaries and face stiff competition in the fight for profits, it’s even more difficult to clearly define the meaning of...
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...Pharmaceutical Advertising Pharmaceutical advertising, which dates back to the 18th and 19th century, conveys a message to consumers in which medication can relieve just about any ailment. Today, these ads are everywhere. They exist on billboards, television, radio, the newspaper, magazines, and the Internet. Direct-to-consumer marketing (DTC) almost challenges the individual to question whether or not he or she has a medical issue. This is synonymous with selling an illness and not a remedy. Pharmaceutical advertising and marketing among health care providers remains questionable in terms of ethical practices. Pharmaceutical representatives promote their medications through a commonly known marketing strategy, which involves the use of gifts to entice or persuade the health care provider. These gifts involve pens, pads, lunch, dinner, and luxurious trips. Effective advertising and marketing should promote a product that gains the interest of an individual without question. Advertising, mainly in the form of pharmaceuticals should not be misleading and should not insinuate that common occurrences produce a medical problem. The History of DTC Marketing Originating in the 18th and 19th century, DTC marketing deluded consumers through misleading and falsified advertising. Moving on into the 20th century, “pharmaceutical ads accounted for nearly half of newspapers’ advertising revenue” (Huh, DeLorme, Reid, & Soontae, 2010, para. 3). The Pure Food and Drug Act became a law in...
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...Assignment 4: Legal and Ethical Considerations in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property Submitted by: Professor: LEG 500 Date of Submission: Research three to five (3-5) ethical issues relating to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety and examine whether PharmaCARE violated any of the issues in question. The ethical issues are based on the social code and daily morality. Since the discussion is based on customer loyalty, stem cell research and abortion. Yet this invokes some serious arguments which proves that there are ethical issues which are yet of considerable concerns and need to be addressed. The ethical issues that are faced by the company mostly revolve around the morals and principles of the right and the wrongful actions. Here the focus is also on the moral approvals in terms of the what is viewed correct by individuals in certain professions. The main ethical issues however arise from advertising, personal selling, suppliers, contracts and pricing. Some of the main ethical issues that relate to the business are based mainly in terms of market research, audiences and pricing. The market researches can invade the privacy of the customers. In addition, in terms of the research, there is a high chance that these can be conducted based on stereotypes, which can be unethical. It is important for companies to use the market research as a means of marketing and a means to attain feedback for their performance...
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...MGMT 368 Business Ethics Week 4 Deontological Second Paper April 15, 2012 Direct-to-consumer drug advertising - Deontological Point ofView For many years, consumers relied and depended on the expertise and knowledge of physicians to make decisions on their pharmaceutical needs. Before 1985, prescription drugs could not be advertised directly to consumers. The U.S Food and Drug Administration passed a rule that allowed Direct-to-consumer drug advertising in 1985. This ruling was passed on the condition that warning information was provided about side effects and other dangers. “Directto- consumer advertising is the promotion of prescription drugs through newspaper, magazine, television, and internet marketing. Drug companies also product a range of other material, including brochures and videos, that are available in doctors office or designed to be given to patients by medical professions or via patient groups.” ("Source Watch") Currently the United States and New Zealand are the only two developed nations that allow direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs. Other nations feel that direct-to-consumer advertisements are often just sales pitches that pressure doctors to make unnecessary prescriptions. ("Prescription drug ads") I favor direct-to-consumer advertising/marketing of pharmaceutical drugs and believe that it is ethical. In this paper I will be using the deontological ethics of Immanueal Kant' s Theory to support my reasoning. Immanuel Kant...
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...Unethical Marketing of Medical and Pharmaceutical Products-Part Two Tamara Floyd Sherome Graham Frances Kadambi Viviene Smith Grand Canyon University: NRS 437V Ethical Decision Making in Healthcare October 20th, 2013 Unethical Marketing of Medical and Pharmaceutical Products Part Two The pharmaceutical industry along with the manufacturers of healthcare products and technologies often encourage the misappropriation and distribution of marginally beneficial products and technologies in the healthcare industry. These companies often use various advertising methods to influence members of the public to request their products and services without adequate knowledge of their effectiveness and implications to their medical condition. This paper will provide a summary of the worldview s and philosophies of a hospital administrator, a spiritual leader, a health care colleague, and a lay person as their views relate to the concept of the ethical dilemmas and implications of the unethical marketing of medical and pharmaceutical products in the United States. Hospital Administrator The Hospital administrator who wishes to remain anonymous believes that many pharmaceutical companies and the marketing strategies they employ have had a negative impact on the healthcare industry (L.B, personal communication, October 17, 2013). She believes that many practitioners often prescribe needed products only after receiving biased information along with subtle influence from the manufacturers...
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...Running head: DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER COMMUNICATION BY PHARMACUETICAL Abstract This research paper presents an overview of the direct-consumer communication issues by pharmaceutical organizations. In addition, this paper examines some of the sectors that are rampant to litigation within this pharmaceutical industry. It illustrates why effective communication is essential for pharmaceutical organizations, because it greatly affects various levels of productions, reputations, revenues, public awareness, services, products and trademarks. It also includes a comprehensive synopsis regarding the development issues related to applying communications as part of corporate ethics, marketing, publicizing and sales strategy. The example illustrated in this paper is in relation to one of the largest lucrative industry sectors, but applies to all industry sectors and organizations offering both products as well as services. Furthermore, this paper validates an overview of how Johnson and Johnson, one of the world’s philanthropic and ethical leader in the pharmaceutical industry, continues to develop complex organizational issues, such as communications regarding their pharmaceutical marketing practices. Direct-to-consumer communication by pharmaceutical organizations Running head: COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PHARMACUETICAL INDUSTRY Communication is defined as “the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people”(McShane & Glinow, 2010, p. 270) Effective...
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...of the pharmaceutical industry with regards to its influence in Washington. By exerting so much influence in the arena where the drug laws are drawn up, discussed, and passed, the pharmaceutical industry, also known as BIG Pharma due to their scope, size, and influence, has negatively affected the consumer in its market, namely the medical patient. The drug industry has done this through lobbying in Washington to keep laws relating to the pharmaceutical market favorable for the drug companies themselves. This brief examines three possible solutions to this problem: lobbying spending and lobbyist limits for pharmaceutical companies, a ban on direct advertisements by pharmaceutical companies, and more transparency and screening before prescribing prescription pain killers. In this analysis, the first alternative represents the best solution to this problem as it has the highest overall potential for benefit and less total cost than the other two possible solutions. Introduction/Background This policy brief examines the pharmaceutical industry and how it has come to gain too much power not only with regards to market power in its industry but also with regards to their influence in Washington. By having this much power, drug companies have negatively affected medical consumers/patients through continued increased prices and a steady decline in innovation. Steps need to be taken to eradicate this problem by reducing the scope of influence of large pharmaceutical companies...
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...A REVIEW OF MARKETING STRATEGIES WORK BY DIFFERENT PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES Saurabh Kumar Saxena Department of Management, Rakshpal Bahadur Management Institute Bareilly-243001, India Mail: saxena100rabh@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT The current shift in the marketing strategy is work by multinational pharmaceutical Companies .It is now high-end (rather than adaptive) development that is being carried out by leading companies. And, increasingly, other companies are finding themselves competing against, or working with, new innovation-based companies. My study focuses on the processes and outcomes of globally distributed pharmaceutical companies. This article will present the changing marketing strategies when a pharma company shifts from Acute base to Chronic therapy base. This research paper will also give an insight about shift in supply chain process and customer and end-customer perception which is the base of formulation of different marketing strategies. Key Words: Acute, Chronic, Core, Super Core, Closing stock, Inventory, Push, Pull, End-customer, Core customer, SKUs, SAP, ERP, Primary Sales, Secondary Sales. 1.INTRODUCTION: The pharmaceutical industry is the world’s largest industry due to worldwide revenues of approximately US$2.8 trillion. Pharma industry has seen major changes in the recent years that place new demands on payers, providers and manufacturers. Customers now demand the same choice and convenience from pharma industry that they find in other segment...
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...Legal and Ethical Consideration in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property Terra Bradley LEG500, Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance Professor Lateefah A. Muhammad 17 March 2014 Legal and Ethical Considerations in Marketing, Product Safety, and Intellectual Property In this paper I will identify three ethical issues relating to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety. I will argue against Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing by drug companies. Next I will determine who regulates compounding pharmacies under the current regulatory scheme, what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could or should have done, and whether the FDA should be granted more power over compounding pharmacies. I will decide whether PharmaCARE’s use of Colberian intellectual property would be ethical in accordance with Utilitarianism; Deontology; Virtue Ethics; my own moral and ethical compass. Afterwards, I will analyze the way PharmaCARE uses U.S. law to protect its own intellectual property while co-opting intellectual property in Colberia. Then I will suggest at least three ways the company could compensate the people and nation of Colberia for the use of its intellectual property and the damage to its environment. I will compare PharmaCARE’s actions with those of at least one real-world company whose creativity in skirting legal technicalities led to ethical lapses and financial loss. I will also determine the...
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...to deaths and now everything will need to be reviewed to determine validity. Ethical issues relating to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety and examining whether PharmaCare violated any of the issues in question will be explored. Direct-to-consumer marketing (DTC), by drug companies is a strategy that will be argued either for or against in this paper. There are entities responsible for regulating compounding pharmacies under the current regulatory scheme. The actions that either of these entities or the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) could/should have taken will be explored along with whether PharmaCare could face any legal exposure surrounding its practices. The manner in which PharmaCare used the U.S law to protect its own intellectual property will be discussed, and if John the former employee has any claim as the true “inventor” of AD23. One real-world example of intellectual property theft will be examined and the effect to that company’s brand will be discussed. The issue surrounding John’s wife’s death and the other potential litigants against PharmaCare will be analyzed further as the result of AD23. Finally, both major arguments that John can make to claim that he is a whistleblower and the type of protections that should be afforded will be specified. Ethical Issues Marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical business is a useful tool to assist in boosting sales. However, there is also room for ethical issues...
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...Paper 2 - Deontological February 7, 2015 THE ETHICS OF DIRECT TO CONSUMER MARKETING OF PRESCREPTION DRUGS FROM A DEONTOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE The purpose of this paper is to explore the ethics of direct to consumer marketing of prescription drugs from a deontological perspective shaped by Kant’s Categorical Imperative testing method. In researching this issue one thing that I found as interesting fact is that of the some 200 countries in the world, only the United Sates and New Zealand allow direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCPA) (DeGeorge 320) . Clearly worldwide there is an ethical issue with allowing consumers to become aware of medications based on advertising on TV or in magazines, newspapers and billboards. I too, feel that there are ethical issues, using Kant’s Categorical Imperative we will evaluate the morality of such advertising and its consequences. I read an article by ABC contributor Larry Woodard, it grabbed my attention in the first few sentences “I sat in my doctor's office a couple of weeks ago waiting for my annual physical. I soon grew tired of all the science and car magazines and started looking around. As in most doctors' offices, most things had pharmaceutical company logos on them: The clock, the Kleenex dispenser, the calendar. But what gave birth to this column was the doctor himself. He walked out of one of the examination rooms, clipboard in hand, talking to a patient. The guy was about my age and listening intently. Then it...
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...1. Ethical issues relating to marketing and advertising, intellectual property, and regulation of product safety Ethical issues differ depending on the social code and daily morality. The fact that discussions on stem cell research, abortion, and consumer loyalty still invoke serious arguments proves that ethical issues are still of considerable concern and should be addressed. Most ethical issues including those in the business sector revolve around moral or principles of morality, right, and wrongful actions, expressions of moral approvals in reference to principles of conduct generally viewed as correct by individuals in a particular profession or group. In the business world, ethical issues arise from advertising, personal selling, suppliers, contracts, and pricing. Some examples of ethical issues relating to business activities arise from market research, market audience, and pricing. Market research that invades the privacy of customers or research conducted based on stereotypes is unethical. During any company market research for purposes of marketing or attaining feedback on their performance, the research methods used should respect the rights of customers. Selection of market audience is also a common section of a business, which is likely to bring about unethical practices. It is unethical for companies to exclude potential customers from the target market. Discouraging some customers through selective marketing or targeting customers who are vulnerable such as...
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...Pharmaceutical Ads All pharmaceutical companies should have ethical morals in what they produce and sale. From the pharmaceutical representatives to the Doctor’s then to the consumer. Every day you see on television’s, in magazines, the radio, and on the internet advertisements of new drugs being developed that offer a possible cure. No one wants to be ill, but do these advertised drugs really cure one’s issue or just mask it temporarily according to their ad? Are the doctor’s really giving you the correct medicines to cure you or are they pushing a product for the pharmaceutical company for promotional purposes? The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries that consider direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, ethical. Drug advertising advise the consumers about key, treatable health conditions and foster doctor/patient dialogue. I believe when consumers see these advertisements they try to self-diagnose themselves and sometimes finding themselves seeking additional medical attention by going to their primary care physician. “A study has shown DTC advertising is likely to increase the demand rates of both the drug category and drug brand choices, as well as the likelihood the drugs would be prescribed by physicians.” (Woodard) Adversaries of “direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC) argue the FDA has inadequate resources and many claims make it on air.” (Woodard) The amount of regulatory actions engaged by the FDA against pharmaceutical companies...
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...Running head: Business Ethics Research Paper Direct to Consumer Marketing of Prescription Drugs Abstract Advertising of prescription drugs remains a controversial topic due to the American citizen health and the doctor-patient relationship. There have been many changes in the federal regulation of print and broadcast advertising over the past twenty years. This has been a gray area of regulatory developments since the original Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, which limits the informal and indirect marketing of pharmaceutical drugs. Other than the voluntary decision to follow the AMA Code of Ethics, no formal regulation has been enforced. Direct to Consumer Marketing of Prescription Drugs My research paper will show both sides in the lively debate of Pharmaceutical companies directly marketing to the American public. On one side of this debate is the argument that the growth of Direct-to-Consumer advertising has changed the role of a physician in reducing his/her authority. It is also concerning that the non-medically trained average American absorbing the information on benefits and risks from Direct to Consumer advertising instead of trusting the medically trained physician. The other side of this debate is a lack of public awareness of Pharmaceutical Drug options for medical conditions. Studies have shown mixed results and in 1985, the FDA gave notice in the Federal Register claiming jurisdiction of the Direct to Consumer advertising of prescription drugs so it...
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...Marketing Plan for the launch of “OSAMAX ” Current market situation Nepalese Pharmaceutical market and its marketing practices is complex to understand. With no such specific guidelines and policies from its regulatory body DDA, Nepalese pharmaceuticals feel the gap for visionary support from government. Though the country is self reliant in various categories the chunk of market share is still being enjoyed by foreign and Indian companies due to the lack of specific guidelines. Nepal pharmaceutical Laboratory is going to introduce its new product in the market where its competitors already exists. Osamax competing brands are : RESTOFOS – Sun Pharmaceuticals – Indian company OSTEOFOS – Cipla Pharmaceuticals – Indian company FOSSIL – Magnus Pharmaceuticals – Nepali company Since it is difficult to adopt differentiation strategy in pharmaceutical products in terms of product and its features, NPL has to work on other aspects to add value to the product and gain competitive advantage over competitors’ product. Market description Currently total market size of pharmaceutical product is 12 billion and the share of Nepali companies in the market is 35 % with 45 manufactures operating and (5– 18) in the pipeline. With an annual growth rate of 19 %, this sector is one of the fastest growing industries. This sector is contributing around 12 billion to nation’s economy of which domestic industry accounts for approximately 4 billion. This sector has become strong and stable in various...
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