June 29, 2009Massive ad campaign helped increase Zelnorm sales before recall, study finds
A study examining the marketing of prescription drugs found that the manufacturer of the irritable bowel syndrome drug Zelnorm spent $249 million on advertising in its first year on the market. The study by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill found that the advertisements resulted in one million new doctors appointments over the first three months after the ads began running.
The Food and Drug Administration asked Novartis, the manufacturer of Zelnorm, to withdraw the drug from the market in 2007 after research showed that it could increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular side effects. Previous research had found that patients taking Zelnorm were eight times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke compared with those taking a placebo.
Dr. Spencer Dorn, the lead author of the study, said that while the ads may have helped to raise awareness of irritable bowel syndrome, too many patients may have been prescribed Zelnorm as a result of the campaign. The study concluded that 400,000 patients were diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in the first three months the ads were running.
Researchers and consumer advocacy groups say that in addition to ads targeting patients, drug companies also try to influence physicians into prescribing their products more often. More than half of Novartis’ promotional spending on Zelnorm in 2005 went towards persuading doctors to prescribe the drug to patients.