PhRMA guidelines for DTC on deck

Executive Summary

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is expected to release its revised guidelines for direct-to-consumer ads in early 2009, Hugh O'Neill, Sanofi-Aventis' head of market access and business development, reported at a conference on DTC Oct. 29. He indicated the code will include some type of moratorium on ads (1"The Pink Sheet," July 21, 2008, p. 27). Good news for PhRMA: Billy Tauzin, the trade group's president, "expects to be back on the job in the very near future," according to Senior VP Ken Johnson. Tauzin is on medical leave, but the association is "in daily contact with Billy as we begin to make plans for next year," Johnson says. "The great news is that he remains cancer-free and expects to remain at the helm of PhRMA for many years to come." Tauzin often uses a personal account of his battle with cancer, and the role of pharmaceuticals in his recovery, as part of his advocacy for the industry (2"The Pink Sheet," March 28, 2005, p. 31)