CONSUMER DRUG ADVERTISING CHANGING FACE OF MEDICINE

NEW YORK - It may seem innocent enough--a photograph
of a woman prancing through a meadow of grass with bright eyes and
clear nasal passages. But to a manufacturer of an antihistamine, this
product advertisement--and where it is placed--mean big bucks.

According to a survey released today on direct-to-consumer (DTC)
advertising, more people take a prescription drug as a result of
seeing a magazine advertisement than of viewing a television ad.
Magazine advertisements result in 31% of prescriptions, compared with
television ads, which result in 20% of prescriptions.

The survey, commissioned by Time Inc., found that television ranked
first in creating awareness of a new drug. But consumers ranked
magazines number one when it came to sharing information about a
product, clearly stating a drug's risks and disease symptoms and
providing consumers with a way to get in touch with the manufacturer
through a toll-free number or an Internet address.

Television and magazine advertising of pharmaceuticals is known as
direct-to-consumer because they target the consumer instead of the
physician.

While the proliferation of these ads over the past decade have allowed
consumers to play a greater role in their medical care, they are
taking the doctor out of the healthcare equation, warned Dr. David A.
Kessler, dean of the Yale University School of Medicine and former
commissioner of the US 46ood and Drug Association.

``If prescription drugs are going to be like any other commodity, then
we are changing the face of medicine,'' Kessler said at an industry
briefing.

Coupled with the Internet, which has become a leading source of
consumer health information, DTC advertising is creating the
perception that consumers can decide for themselves which prescription
drugs they should take, Kessler noted.

Indeed, 23% of consumers say the Internet is one of their primary
sources of information on prescription drugs, the survey found.

According to Dr. George D. Lundberg, editor in chief of Medscape.com
and former editor and chief of The Journal of the American Medical
Association, the Internet is also changing the role of the doctor.
Lundberg, who also spoke at the briefing, predicted that there will be
no state licensing requirements for physicians within 10 years due to
the global nature of the Internet.

DTC advertising not only has implications for patient healthcare, but
also for drug prices, which are rising 3- to 4-times faster than
prices of other healthcare expenditures such as hospital and physician
costs, according to Kessler.

``DTC is considered a driving force in prescription drug prices,''
Kessler commented.