Category: Advertising

MEwens
Ending Dimebon Development: Pfizer and Medivation are ceasing development of Dimebon, an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment, the WSJ reports. It was the second phase 3 trial of the drug to fail. In 2008 Pfizer agreed to pay Medivation $225 million upfront plus up to an additional $500 million if milestones were met for development […]

MEwens
Next September tobacco companies were due to start using graphic warnings on cigarette packs and in ads that highlighted the consequences of smoking and of secondhand smoke.
That may not happen now that a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction keeping the FDA from implementing the changes. As the WSJ reports, U.S. Judge Richard […]

Jared A. Favole
Pfizer Rises: Pfizer said third-quarter profit rose to $3.74 billion, or 48 cents per share, from $866 million, or 11 cents per share, as it sold its Capsugel unit and benefited from currency fluctuations, the WSJ reports. Excluding the Capsugel gain and other items, earnings rose to 62 cents a share […]

MEwens
Listeria Deaths Confirmed: The CDC has confirmed that 13 deaths and 72 illnesses are tied to listeria-tainted cantaloupes sold by a single farm in Colorado, the WSJ reports. More victims may emerge, the CDC said. Consumers should throw out cantaloupes that may have come from Jensen Farms, which recalled the fruit Sept. 14. […]

MEwens
A note from your doctor nudging you to get your cholesterol checked. Free blood pressure tests at your local Walgreen’s. Smoking cessation programs and more reduced-sodium and trans-fat-free foods.
All are part of a just-announced public-private partnership aimed at preventing one million heart attacks and strokes through 2017. Those diseases currently cause one-third of […]

MEwens
It’s official: Google is paying $500 million to settle a Justice Department investigation into the company’s acceptance of ads from online Canadian pharmacies targeting U.S. consumers.
Here’s the WSJ story and here’s the WSJ Law Blog’s post. Here’s the Justice Department’s statement.
The DOJ says Google should have known as early as 2003 that the […]

MEwens
Kids are seeing fewer ads for foods and drinks high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium, a new study shows.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago crunched Nielsen Media Research ratings data and found that exposure to ads for less healthful foods and drinks fell 38% for kids aged 2 to 5 […]

MEwens
Thumbs-Up, Conditionally: An FDA advisory panel unanimously recommended the accelerated approval of brentuximab vodotin, an experimental lymphoma drug that Seattle Genetics wants to market under the brand name Adcetris, the WSJ reports. Accelerated approval requires further studies to be conducted after the drug is on the market; Seattle Genetics would prefer regular approval, […]

MEwens
The vast majority of breast cancer cases occur in women, so it’s only natural that the components of and context for public-health ads about the disease have a connection to that gender.
A study recently published by the Journal of Marketing Research, however, questions whether that’s always the best way to go. A series […]

MEwens
Can a woman and a pig chillaxing in a sauna convey the importance of cooking pork thoroughly? How about showing a shopper faced with a choice of a single dress in an empty mall as a way to convince patients they need to learn about multiple treatment options?
Two government agencies are using those […]