Are Direct-to-Consumer Drug Ads Doomed?

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1876679-1,00.html

So with a new President who has vowed to fight Big Pharma to lower drug costs and a Democratic Congress with several anti-DTC advocates, drug and media companies are justifiably jittery. "We are entering an environment that is going to be more open to those who are adamantly opposed to direct-to-consumer advertising," says Jay Bolling, president of Roska Healthcare Advertising in Montgomery, Pa. (See the top 10 TV ads of 2008.)

However, perhaps the companies shouldn't freak out — yet. The DTC issue has not been floated as an early White House priority; it is unlikely to be dealt with until weeks or months after Obama names a nominee for FDA commissioner, an announcement that could come within days. Plus, some of DTC's most vocal critics in Congress aren't calling for an all-out advertising ban. For example, Democratic Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, wants a moratorium on DTC ads during a drug's first two years on the market. "Two years will give the FDA and doctors time to see what safety issues arise once a drug is approved," Stupak says. "It will also allow adequate time to educate doctors on how to use the new drug."