"'Vioxx is a great illustration of what concerns many physicians,' says Jerry Avorn, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and author of Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs. 'The ads distorted the medical marketplace by encouraging the use of an option that's more expensive and less cost-effective that older options.'
"Despite the renewed criticism of DTC advertising as a result of the Vioxx fiasco, the industry has done little self-reflection so far. Instead, Pfizer (PFE ), which makes Vioxx competitor Celebrex, has boosted its spending to fill the void. And pharmaceutical analysts expect advertising for blockbuster drugs to continue unfettered. 'I don't buy the idea that the ads educate,' Avorn says. 'What they do is educate patients to demand more.' " [Business Week]
