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:

If you think health care consumers haven’t widely embraced social media to research health care providers, gather information on treatments and diseases, and support one another, think again.

This health care social media video, created by the organizers of the HealthCare New Media Marketing Conference, offers a host of interesting statistics that prove the use of online media outlets for gaining access to health care information.

Did you know?

• 60 million consumers now use new media to share their health experiences online
• 216 US hospitals use social media
• 142 US hospitals have You Tube channels

Last week we discussed how a new PhRMA proposal would pharma social media a big boost. But how about medical device manufacturers? It turns out, some medical device companies have begun to participate in social media. But similar to pharma, social media participation from medical device companies has been slowed due to a lack of clarity in FDA regulations.

In a recent Finance & Commerce article, Arundhati Parmar discusses a recent survey BB Marketing Plus and MediComm Consultants. Survey results reveal that a small group of FDA-regulated companies are participating in social media to engage customers and prospects.

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.