Sunday, August 04, 2013

Why Do Prescription Drug Makers Advertise?


Advertisements impact the physiological efficacy of a branded drug 

Emir Kamenica, Robert Naclerio & Anup Malani
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, forthcoming

Abstract: We conducted randomized clinical trials to examine the impact of direct-to-consumer advertisements on the efficacy of a branded drug. We compared the objectively measured, physiological effect of Claritin (Merck & Co.), a leading antihistamine medication, across subjects randomized to watch a movie spliced with advertisements for Claritin or advertisements for Zyrtec (McNeil), a competitor antihistamine. Among subjects who test negative for common allergies, exposure to Claritin advertisements rather than Zyrtec advertisements increases the efficacy of Claritin. We conclude that branded drugs can interact with exposure to television advertisements. 

Nod to Kevin Lewis

2 comments:

kebko said...

Can I be pedantic about your title? This seems like one of those Hayekian informational things, where markets are smarter than the individual market makers. The drug companies only have to know that advertisements increase sales. They wouldn't necessarily know if this is why....

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