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As companies evolve their marketing programs to digital and online, the pharmaceutical industry is hampered by a lack of clear guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration.  Advertising Age commented on a recent eMarketer study, “DTC Pharmaceutical Marketing Online:A Slow Shift to Digital” that “pharma marketers are waiting around”.  Not only is online marketing effective for growing pharma profits, but it’s where customers spend their time discovering, consuming and sharing information.

From AdAge:

“Pharmaceutical online ad spending is expected hit $1 billion this year and keep rising through 2014, according to report prepared by eMarketer. But until the Food and Drug Administration issues its draft guidelines for online pharma marketing, that growth remains limited.”

Panel experts voiced their support for allowing drug and health care companies to access the power of social networks during the Food and Drug Law Institute’s recent Advertising and Promotion Conference in Washington, D.C.

These experts discussed how to communicate the message of drug and health care product safety and risk to the public as they wait for the Food and Drug Administration to set guidelines online pharmacy without prescription on how health care companies and marketers can proceed into the social-media space — regulation that are expected by the end of the year.

Social Media use by consumers and professionals in the pharma world is exploding and organizations that have been latent to adoption in the past are joining with progressives to demystify and in some cases, embrace the social web. But how?

A recent presentation from John Mack, Publisher of Pharma Marketing News and the Pharma Marketing Blog offers an excellent overview of the current state of pharma social media use, how social media can work with other Pharma marketing tactics as well as how to overcome common barriers.

There’s a new ebook on social media for the Pharmaceutical industry out from Chris Iafolla, of SHIFT drugs online without prescription Public Relations. Todd Defren, co-founder of SHIFT writes:

“Every Social Media program — regardless of the industry — is tasked with finding the right audience and engaging in a thoughtful and productive manner.  For pharmaceutical companies, other issues have to be considered … such as how to handle adverse event reporting; the need for fair balance; and how to handle off-label discussions.  On top of this, you are dealing with a patient audience that is more knowledgeable than ever and craving a give-and-take relationship with their doctors.  When they have questions that require a personalized response, many are as likely to turn to their online peers as to their physicians, which only further muddies that twisty road!  To help Pharma marketing execs navigate this journey, SHIFT today released an eBook aimed at offering practical advice on successfully implementing Social Media programs in the pharma space.”

Despite uncertainties regarding regulations on social media usage by pharma, many of the big players are still getting into the game.

A recent Pharma Marketing Blog post online drugs without prescription shares some interesting details on Pfizer’s entrance into social media via Facebook. But according to the post, that entrance wasn’t quite graceful:

When I became a Pfizer FB Pfan, Pfizer’s Wall contained a bunch of short “medicine Safety” videos in which patients talked about their medical conditions and medications. I don’t think any mentioned specific products by name.

The pharmaceutical industry is slowly venturing into the world of social media. And like with any advance into uncharted territory, there are obstacles to overcome before the ultimate goal is reached.

The Shed blogger Daniel Siddle takes this all into consideration in a recent post discussing the merits of social media in the pharmaceutical industry and the ways in which it can benefit from interaction with customers.

The post initially mentions the obstacles the pharmaceutical industries faces in terms of marketing products:

Cost: Marketing pharmaceuticals is expensive, especially because it can’t be done until after the drug receives New Drug Approval (NDA).

At first glance, Facebook pages of pharmaceutical companies are just like any other companies’ — sharing links and providing content.

But take a closer look, and you’ll notice that the pages don’t allow commenting or even the “like” Facebook feature.

In a recent AdWeek article, Brian Morrissey discusses the pharma marketing conundrum regarding social media. The article shares how one pharma company is using social media in a limited way:

These days, it’s common for consumers to discuss drugs and treatments on health care social networks like WebMD, as well as on general social networks like Twitter.

Yet the pharmaceutical industry has thus far been unable to participate in social media — not because they are prohibited by law, but because there is a lack of clear regulatory guidelines for marketing on social networks and other web sites.

Still, in April, the FDA sent warning letters to 14 companies, claiming they violated regulations regarding presentation of fair balance in search engine ads, according to AdvertisingAge.

It’s clear that social media has gained widespread popularity amongst the consumer-oriented Fortune 500 crowd. But how about pharmaceutical, biotechnology and devices/diagnostic companies? By and large, they have been reluctant to participate in the social web, instead sticking closely to a Web 1.0 model. That’s the point made in a recent Life Science Leader article by Cliff Mintz:

Indeed, only a handful of life sciences companies have decided to take the social media plunge, claims Jonathan Richman, director of business development at Bridge Worldwide Inc. and author of the popular “Dose of Digital” blog, which tracks social media usage by life sciences and healthcare companies.

It’s clear that business leaders in a range of industries have come to embrace social media channels, including Twitter, to communicate with customers, manage brand reputation and increase brand visibility. But are healthcare executives lagging?

That’s a question Pharma 2.0 bloggers Bunny Ellerin and Eileen O’Brien ask in a recent post:

Tweeting is fast becoming a must-do vs. a what-are-you-doing for business generally and CEO’s in particular. Just last week Twitter published Twitter 101, a guide to help businesses leverage the service. Last month, BusinessWeek ran an article about business leaders who use Twitter and profiled 50 CEO’s from a range of industries. There was definitely an over-representation of tech CEO’s, but BW also talked to those from advertising/pr, construction, research, media, retail. But none in healthcare.