October 30th, 2009
Looking forward to the FDA hearing on social media
I’m one of the lucky 300 who’ll be attending in person at the FDA’s public hearing on social media. The meeting represents an unprecedented step by the FDA to provide the digital pharma community with an opportunity to offer insights about how medical information and marketing is delivered through online channels.
The agenda and speaker list was released this morning. Many of the likely suspects will be in attendance, and the speaking roster includes representatives from big (and small) pharma (surprised not to see more!), healthcare marketing agencies, consultants, and technology companies. It will be interesting to see how the meeting unfolds.
My wishlist:
- I hope the agency folks keep the pitches and business development to a minimum (and I’m an agency guy). This meeting provides an opportunity to communicate about issues that may have long-term implications on our businesses. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into an agency pitch/bitch.
- Focus on the future, and don’t try to fix the past (or present). Yes — we need to look at the current state of social media, but most of us believe we’re at the onset of the revolution; let’s talk about what’s coming down the pike and prepare–not focus on current roadblocks.
- Meaningful discussion about search marketing, with feasible outcomes. The FDA’s unexpected crack-down on pharmaceutical search ads last Spring sent a collective shutter down the spines of pharmaceutical companies and agencies alike. Healthcare is one the top online spenders and search marketing has become a critical component in any campaign. When will the FDA offer meaningful and substantial guidelines?
- Let’s talk personalized medicine. How will this emerging area be addressed by the FDA?
More to come…
Note: all the information on the event has been gathered in one place by @Skypen over here.
