FDA Policy/General

Digital Drug Marketing Workshop Themes

An FDA-funded 9/14/2023 virtual public workshop on “The Future of Prescription Drug Promotion and Digital Marketing” convened by the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy identified three cross-cutting themes as described in the institute’s meeting report:

the pace at which new marketing venues, technologies, and trends are proliferating in the digital marketing space presents challenges and opportunities for regulators of advertising and promotion;
new technologies and access to data enable more targeted advertising, allowing marketers to tailor their messaging and select promotional content venues that align more closely with how and where a user consumes media; and
marketing on social media presents new challenges, including the presentation of risk information and transparency around disclosures, particularly in short-form content.

Meeting participants also discussed several areas where further exploration would be useful:

research and best practices related to native advertising with consideration for social media algorithms and the use of consumer data for targeted advertisements;
research and guidelines for ethical practices related to advertiser interactions with patient influencers and sponsored content;
research related to promotional content shared by patient influencers and the role of disclosures for both consumer- and healthcare provider (HCP)-directed advertising;
research to collect metrics on prescribing decisions and behaviors that result from HCP-directed drug promotion on social media; and
research to examine the impacts of “science by press release” on HCP decision-making.

The meeting report concludes that both marketers and consumers could benefit from additional guidance from regulators to help ensure prescription drug promotion is truthful, balanced, accurate, and doesn’t mislead consumers or HCPs. “Despite the ever-evolving landscape of prescription drug digital marketing,” it says, “it is incumbent on all of us to continue to work together to expand our knowledge, understanding, and expertise to develop solutions to meet the challenges ahead.”

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