what effect will generic drugs have on brand drug advertising?

Question

Will the introduction of more generic drugs increase brand drug advertising
Will the introduction of generic drugs increase corporate brand advertising in the pharmaceutical industry

Answer 1

The advertising for the drug that is going off patent and becoming generic will decrease drastically, in some cases, when the brand manufacturer stops "supporting" the drug with advertising, the generic market dries up as well. What will happen, is advertising will increase for those types of line extensions, or new and improved drugs that are set to replace the declining brand. For example - if the initial drug was a twice a day pill, just prior to it going off patent, the brand will introduce a once a day formula, and patent the release mechanism. It will stop the advertising for the old 2X per day formula. Doctors will then generally switch patients to the 1X per day formula, citing patient compliance as the issue - its easier to take a tablet once per day than twice per day. Therefore, the impact of the generic is minimized - and consumers still are not getting the savings.

The reality is that brand awareness is ineffective in the prescription pharmaceutical arena - where insurance companies dictate what they are going to cover - so even with advertising, if you are faced with a much higher copay - brand vs. generic, even if the advertising is nice and you really want the brand, you'll probably settle for the generic. Thats why advertising for a brand drug that has gone generic is almost non-existant.

Answer 2

The affects are seen now. Pharmaceutical companies are combining drugs, e.g. Zetia, Vytorin. Some are finding shrewd and unethical ways to obtain patent extensions.