Pharmaceutical Marketing in the United States: How Prescription Drugs Have Become THE Health Care Solution

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful and profitable industries in the world, valued at over a trillion dollars. People need and will always need medicine, but the enormous success of the pharmaceutical industry cannot simply be attributed to the inherent, enduring demand for their products. It is well documented that pharmaceutical companies often spend as much, or more money on marketing their existing products than on developing new ones. Developing new pharmaceuticals is extremely costly in terms of both time and money, so pharmaceutical companies often rely on marketing to create demand and drive profits. Pharmaceutical marketing spending has increased substantially over the years, and prescription drug consumption by Americans has followed the same trend. A large volume of literature has been written on the subject of pharmaceutical marketing, and there is an ongoing debate about the ethicality of the practice. This is because the marketing of pharmaceuticals differs greatly in many respects from the marketing of other consumer products. Unlike other markets, there are multiple agents involved on both the demand side and the supply side. Although patients are the end-users, physicians are the ultimate gatekeepers of prescription medications. Thus, pharmaceutical companies direct their marketing efforts towards both patients and physicians in the form of Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA) and Direct to Physician Promotion (DTPP). This thesis aims to provide an in-depth description of both DTCA and DTPP and the impact of these practices on physicians, patients, and prescription volume. In doing so, this thesis will examine the evidence on both sides of the debate surrounding pharmaceutical marketing practices in order to shed light on the true nature of the current situation.