WASHINGTON — Pharmaceutical companies are turning to social networking sites to reach their customers—both physicians and patients—since it has become increasingly difficult to market their products using traditional approaches.
At a meeting sponsored by a Washington-based public relations company, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, staffs from drug companies and public relations companies brainstormed on the best ways to maximize opportunities presented by social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter without running afoul of federal regulations.
The Food and Drug Administration has not determined how social networking fits into its regulatory construct. Sanjay J. Koyani, director of FDA Web communications, said that the agency was using social networking tools to advance its own goals—for instance, with a Twitter page devoted to tweets (messages of 140 characters or fewer) about agency recalls—but that it is still working out how it would regulate messages presented by pharmaceutical companies.
Even so, the FDA tends to apply current regulations to digital communications, according to an analysis by Waggener Edstrom. Companies are required to present a fair balance between benefit and risk, and may not promote off-label uses.
Mark Gaydos, senior director of regulatory affairs at Sanofi-Aventis, is heading an informal task force of representatives from five drug makers seeking to create voluntary guidelines on the industry's use of social media.
The companies have had discussions with the FDA Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications about their efforts, he said.