The Burrill Report (November 20, 2009): The FDA Grapples with Rules for Social Media (.MP3,9.59 Mb)

Earlier this month pharmaceutical companies joined with Internet companies for a hearing on social media held by the U.S Food and Drug Administration. At issue in the two day hearings was what if any regulations need to be put into place to control how drug and device makers promote their products online in forums ranging from blogs to Twitter. The lack of regulatory clarity has left many pharmaceutical companies cautious about wading into this brave new world. The hearings followed warning letters sent by the agency to 14 companies in April about their marketing of drugs online because they failed to include risk information. We spoke to Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and a partner and director of global healthcare at Porter Novelli about why pharma companies want to engage with customers through social media, the regulatory issues surrounding its use, and why the questions raised by the industry’s use of social media will not be solved by simple answers.