An increasing number of drug manufacturers are testing the waters of social network sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to market their products.

In the past, drug makers, concerned about negative reactions from consumers and lacking guidance from the Food and Drug Administration on online drug marketing, have been slow to embrace social media as a marketing tool. The growing popularity of social networks as a source of medical information and support, however, has caused drug manufacturers to take a closer look at the marketing potential of these Web sites. While drug companies may be new to using popular social networking sites, consumers are used to turning to the Internet for health information. Indeed, more than 60 million U.S. adults used health blogs, online support groups, and other health-related social media applications last year, double the number from the previous year, according to a November 2008 survey by Manhattan Research.

Recent examples of social media ventures by drug marketers include:

--Merck, maker of Gardasil, a vaccine to help prevent human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer, created a Facebook page last year to promote the drug. 

--Bayer Aspirin recently launched a Facebook page for women that includes an interactive quiz to assess the risk of heart disease.

 
--Reckitt Benckiser, maker of Suboxone, a drug for opiate dependency, provided a grant to the National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment to create YouTube “webisodes” about a man addicted to painkillers and his efforts to get clean.

--Sanofi-Aventis, the maker of various insulin treatments, launched a YouTube channel called “Go Insulin” that features informational videos and testimonials from patients about type 2 diabetes and insulin treatment. AstraZeneca also launched a YouTube channel to promote its asthma drug.

Why it matters: The appeal of social networking sites for drug makers centers on their multifaceted usefulness for consumers. Moreover, online advertising through these kinds of sites is not only far less expensive than traditional media but is also more flexible. Yet drug makers should proceed with caution, taking into account consumer reaction to, and government regulation of, their online marketing efforts. In 2008, the FDA’s division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications sent a warning letter to one drug company regarding a YouTube video for one of its drugs. The FDA warning letter claimed that the video overstated the drug’s efficacy and omitted important risk information. The FDA has said that it will continue to monitor “promotion done by or on behalf of drug companies such as on companies’ own product Web sites and their placement of promotion on others’ Web sites.”