Pharma Strategy Blog

Commentary on Pharma & Biotech Oncology / Hematology New Product Development

Posts tagged ‘chotchkes’

Getting back to the blogging groove after 3 weeks on the road at successive conferences (AUA, ASCO and EHA) is a bit of a shock, so the first post will be short and pithy.

AUA will be remembered for incredibly unsocial and early 6am education session starts.  No thanks, with three meetings in a row stamina trumps insanity by a long shot.  At ASCO, the Chicago venue is sprawling with long walks between sessions that appear to have no theme or cohesion around them and of course, the Press Room is way out in left field over the walkway no matter where you need to go.  The S406 Vista Room was particularly bad and became notorious for the #blisterwalk on Twitter.  Never again will I complain about switching between Halls A and F at Orlando, that's a piece of cake by comparison!

The second big difference I noticed between US and EU meetings was the presence or absence of chotchkes.  In the US they are now verboten of course, but the EU has no such constraints.

Now, I'm not sure a branded laptop sleeve or a Post-it pad ever made a difference to prescribing habits, but well done journal reprint carriers with a clear summary of the data do make a difference in oncology.  They help reinforce the efficacy, survival curves and key messages to your audience.

One thing I particularly remember most from EHA was a very well done piece that clearly differentiated the brand from the competitor, with data I hadn't noticed before.  Talking to some of the hematologists, they were equally interested in the pieces too as they included a peer reviewed journal reprint.  Some were taking copies back to share and discuss the data with their colleagues, which I found interesting.  What's going to have more impact – a branded item with no message or a clinical paper?

The Roche booth was particularly busy whenever I visited the exhibits.  The reason?  Great espresso coffee and the best quality nibbles, much appreciated early in the morning and late afternoon by drooping attendees.  I was less enthused by the aggressive ladies on the stand who wouldn't let me play with the interactive education quizzes for a USB key because the press passes didn't have a bar code on them.  I desperately needed a USB key to share a file with a physician.  We both walked away from that with a negative impression that overrode the nice refreshments.  A little flexibility goes a long way.

The other neat thing at the European Hematology Association meeting in Barcelona was a CD of many of the biology and clinical posters.  Great stuff, saves hours of work trying to piece together snippets taken on an iPhone!

Perhaps my favourite thing about European meetings, aside from the relaxed sociable hours with time to network with people, was the integration and inclusion of the patient advocate voice.  Critical, but largely ignored in American meetings.  More on this in another post.

This week I'll be putting up some synopses of data found interesting from the meetings, but the analyses may well be very different from what you saw in the news items.  Some of the reporting at ASCO in particular was sketchy puff pieces or hype at best, with very little real understanding of what the data actually means.

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Is a free cup of coffee in a conference exhibitor’s booth an inducement to prescribe?

coffee WavesImage by Omar_MK via Flickr

It was interesting to see exhibitors at the recent American Society of Hematology meeting place conspicuous signs in booths that had a café, alerting health care professionals that they should not ask for a free cup of coffee, tea or water if their licensing State, Government or Institution prohibited them from doing so. 

Massachusetts and Vermont are two states that have recently banned health care professionals with prescribing authority from accepting anything of value directly from a pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturer including food & drink where the gift is linked to promotional activities.  Other states such as New Jersey may soon follow suit.

Manufacturers are businesses with products to promote.  They try and attract health care professionals to stop by their exhibits by offering information, and in some cases comfortable seating or refreshments such as biscotti or small ice cream.  Nobody raises any questions about the subsidy to the meeting costs that exhibitors effectively provide, yet the offer of a coffee, tea or water at a booth that a doctor, nurse or physician’s assistant voluntarily chooses to visit is now regarded as a “gift” that several states have banned.

To me, the pendulum has swung too far in the regulation of pharmaceutical promotional activity if people really think a health care professional is induced to prescribe based on a free coffee at a conference exhibit booth. It is rather insulting if regulators think a doctor can be so easily bought. 

If fewer health care professionals visit the booths due to lack of chotckhes or refreshments, the day may well soon come when exhibitors begin downsizing their booths and paying less for the privilege.  The end result in the long run may well be higher registration fees for all, including physicians.

Perhaps there should be a minimum value of “gift” that is regarded as ‘de minimis’ and exempt from oppressive regulation.  Long live free coffee at conference exhibit booths!

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