A Milestone Is Reached!

This week marks a milestone for Pharma Marketing Blog: The 200th post since this blog was started in January 2005 was made on Tuesday (see "Rozerem Ads Dis Lincoln, Show Beaver") ! That's approximately 1 post every 3 days. I figure I spend about 20% of my working hours writing this stuff!

Is it worth it? Hell, yes!

Synergies
Pharma Marketing Blog fits in nicely with the other stuff I do to earn a living -- especially publishing Pharma Marketing News (click here and you can download the latest issue, FREE!), the Pharma Marketing Network Web site, and the PHARMA-MKTING Online Discussion Forum.

Pharma Marketing News is focused more on the views and opinions of other experts who are not afraid to discuss the issues. The mission of the newsletter, like the Web site, is to provide information that helps pharmaceutical marketers find the resources they need (see, for example, the Pharma Marketing Vendor Directory).

How do I gain access to these experts? First, I offer them an online community where they can interact with other experts in confidence (see PHARMA-MKTING). It's a good forum for people newly breaking into the industry as well, as this comment from a member attests:

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who were kind enough to take time out of your day to help a 'newby' such as myself. I was truly touched by the number of responses I received. I hope it brings you a certain sense of happiness to know that you offered a 'stranger' some help, and made a difference in my life!" - Teresa

PHARMA-MKTING a perfect venue for networking, in which I strongly believe. I also believe in helping others, which often pays back by them helping me.

Pharma Marketing Roundtable
I also provide another forum, called the Pharma Marketing Roundtable, for a select few experts. The Pharma Marketing Network Roundtable is a series of periodic teleconference/webinar meetings of pharmaceutical marketing experts for the discussion and exchange of views on topics of interest to pharmaceutical marketing and sales professionals. I often summarize Roundtable discussions in the newsletter. Here are a few recent examples:

• Pharma Trends to Watch in 2006
• Trends in Commercial Support of CME
• The Changing World of MSLs: Determining Value
• Communicating Risk: Let the Dialog Begin
• The European eMarketing Scene: Desperately Seeking Strategy
• Free Gifts to Physicians: What's the Big Deal?

The Helpful Critic!
Believe it or not, I am not your run-of-the-mill critic of the pharmaceutical industry. The "Insider" over at PharmaGossip had this to say about me:

He is relatively industry friendly, but doesn't hesitate to also beat up on any company, product, or practice he doesn't like. He also brings an interesting personal perspective to some of the things that are going on in la la land, I mean the pharma world.

Note: The Insider often contributes comments to this blog, so be sure to check out the comments section whenever you're here.

Couple of things:

1. I never met a company or product I don't like (I really believe that most drugs are useful; sometimes I only question if they are as useful as drug companies claim they are).
2. Nor have I ever met a pharmaceutical marketing executive or product manager who I didn't like. It's some of the things they do that I don't like. I'm talking about marketing practices. Something happens when nice people get together in a big company and are charged with "making the numbers." Sometimes, they lose sight of what's right. That's when I try to set them right.

Hire Me!
I actually also consult for the pharmaceutical industry. See my consulting company Web site: VirSci Corporation. I guess you can call this a disclosure. My consulting work is focused on the same areas that this Blog is focused on: Best Practices and eMarketing Intelligence.

In my consulting, I try to point out speed bumps along the road to my pharma clients. For example, I was recently hired by a major pharmaceutical company brand team to provide them with a 50,000-foot view of the marketing mix and regulatory atmosphere in the next 1 to 5 years. I can do that because I stand on the shoulders of giants, such as the members of the Pharma Marketing Roundtable, who provide me with their insight. In return, I refer these experts to my clients.

Must Read Blog!
PharmaGossip Insider also awarded Pharma Marketing Blog second place among all healthcare blogs! Thank you for that. The Wall Street Journal, back in November 2005, called Pharma Marketing Blog a "must read for people who want to stay current" (see "WSJ Cites PM Blog as 'Must Read'").

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