Pharma Marketing on FDA Commish online vote: "And the winner is . . . 1. Peter Rost"

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Pharma Industry Out of Touch with Their Customers When It Comes to Who They Favor for FDA Commissioner

FDA critics like Steve Nissen and Peter Rost are the candidates of choice in the Pharma Marketing News survey that asked respondents to vote on who they think should be nominated as the next FDA Commissioner.

The survey included representatives from various stakeholders, including executives and staffers working within the pharmaceutical industry, agents and vendors to the industry, healthcare professionals, members of the general public, and staffers within government health agencies.

It is particularly interesting that former FDA Commissioner David Kessler is almost as popular as Janet Woodcock among pharmaceutical industry respondents.

Perhaps it is not surprising that the drug industry favors these “insiders” and not “change agent” outsiders like Nissen, Rost, or Susan Wood, who are favored by pharma's customers: the general public and healthcare professionals.

It’s just another indication that the industry may not be ready for changes that their customers want to see.

You can get the complete results of the survey here: http://tinyurl.com/43o6o2

In this document John Mack also writes:

"And the winner is . . . 1. Peter Rost"

Among the general public (N=99), Rost is the favorite with 32% of that group’s vote.

Respondents affiliated with the drug industry (Pharma + Agency; N=146) preferred Woodcock and Kessler who received 56% and 54%, respectively, of that group’s vote.

Nissen is the favorite among academics plus HCPs (N=143) with 44.9% of that group’s vote.

Finally, among the government group (N=51), Kessler, Nissen, and Wood are favorites with 18.9%, 16.9%, and 12.9%, respectively, of that group’s vote.