Spending on Direct-to-Consumer Drug Ads Has More Than Tripled

NEJM

Although physicians remain the primary targets of drug company advertising, spending on direct-to-consumer advertising has increased more than threefold since the FDA first allowed such marketing 10 years ago, reports a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers gathered data from three market-research firms and the FDA to evaluate trends in DTC advertising from 1996 through 2005. Among the findings:

In 2005, drug companies spent a total of $29.9 billion on promotion, of which $4.2 billion went toward DTC advertising.

Spending on DTC advertising increased by about 14% each year from 2002 through 2005.
Of the 20 most heavily advertised drugs, 17 were marketed directly to consumers within 1 year of FDA approval.

During 2003 and 2004, nearly half the agency's promotion-related regulatory letters concerned direct-to-consumer ads.

NEJM