Start low and go slow...

This old adage regarding prescriptions might end up with a new meaning if a bill limiting DTC advertising is passed by Congress:

Pharmaceutical companies could be prohibited from advertising new drugs directly to consumers for the first two years they are on the market under a bill moving through Congress this week.

The goal, supporters say, is to ensure medicines are safe before allowing industry to promote them to consumers in the hopes they will request prescriptions from doctors.

But a reduction in TV and print advertising, which helped transform medications for heartburn and arthritis into blockbusters, would be a serious financial blow to drug makers. According to one study, every $1 spent on pharmaceuticals advertising often adds more than $2 in sales.

Click here to read the WTOPnews.com article. If this bill is passed, would that mean more funding for CME?