Advertising, ad campaigns, ad agencies, and the people that make it happen

If you think prescription drugs are already expensive, wait ‘til next year. Drug makers have just agreed to pay millions in new fees to help U.S. health officials step up their review of television commercials before they reach consumers. Under the five-year plan, companies will pay the Food and Drug Administration a one-time fee plus additional charges for each commercial submitted. The fees, about $6.25 million a year, aim to help the FDA analyze the growing number of TV drug ads for misleading claims and other problems before they air. There is also  proposed legislation to renew other industry funding for FDA drug reviews through 2012. this would include $392.8 million in fees for fiscal year 2008. I am always amused by the drug industries major rational for expensive meds. The claim is that they need the money to fund research and development on new drugs. What they never admit is that they actually spend three times as much on advertising and marketing of existing drugs as they do on research into new ones. Still, I guess someone has to foot the bill for all those doctors conferences in Tahiti.

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Today we'll be talking about leprosy. But first, we''ll take the cocktail orders.