PHYSICIANS ARE IGNORING DTC DRUG ADS, STUDY CONCLUDES

The pharmaceutical industry's heavyspending on direct-to-consumer (DTC)drug advertising may not be paying offby increasing sales for the promotedproducts, reported researchers at theMedical University of South Carolina.

Although the study found that the televisionads made patients more awareof medications such as Pfizer's Celebrex(celecoxib) and Merck's withdrawn drugVioxx (rofecoxib), the researchersuncovered little evidence that physiciansactually were prescribing more ofthe advertised drugs. The researcherscalled that finding good news, notingthat it suggests that the effects of DTCadvertising may not be as "pernicious"as many critics feared.