[Ip-health] WSJ: Drug Ad Waiting Period Urged

[Amy Nunn]

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Drug-Ad Waiting Period Urged

Associated Press
June 15, 2006



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115033092468080687.html?mod=health_home_stor
ies



CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association said it will press for a waiting
period before pharmaceutical companies can advertise new prescription drugs
and implantable devices to give doctors more time to study the products.

The AMA's president-elect, Ronald Davis of Detroit, said the measure would
let physicians review the pros and cons of certain drugs before prescribing
them.

The new stance from the nation's largest doctors group is in line with
guidelines the pharmaceutical industry adopted last year when it pledged to
educate doctors before beginning consumer-ad campaigns. Those guidelines are
voluntary.

After wrestling for years with a proposed ban on direct-to-consumer
prescription-drug ads, delegates at the AMA's annual meeting adopted a
compromise that would let manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration
work out a waiting period for each product before allowing ads.

"The length of time this requires will vary from medicine to medicine, and
companies will likely meet this goal in different ways," said Ken Johnson,
senior vice president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America.

The proposal applies to new prescription drugs and medical devices, such as
knee implants and artificial discs.

Some surgeons at the meeting said patients have begun demanding marketed
devices -- sometimes even when they don't need surgery.

At previous AMA meetings, the group has considered a ban on
prescription-drug ads, arguing that the ads induce patients to demand
inappropriate medicines from their doctors. Those efforts repeatedly have
met resistance from critics who contend a ban would violate free-speech
rights.



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