SPEAK OUT: Sally Shankland

Direct-to-consumer, or DTC, pharmaceutical promotion has unquestionably created value. It has created a healthy sense of empowerment among patients, reduced undiagnosed disease, and, for drug companies, created unsurpassed brand awareness. As part of its annual marketing and education efforts, the pharmaceutical industry typically spends about $2 billion to market directly to consumers and, according to the FDA, $2 billion on education events for physicians and other clinicians.