Summary
In the article "Drug Marketing Techniques May Be Risking Patient Safety", an analysis was completed which explores both sides of how drug marketing techniques could be a risky or potentially beneficial endeavor. On the risk side, drug marketing techniques pressure regulatory agencies into more rapid approval of new drugs. This could result in compromise of full evaluation of risks to patients from the new drug. On the benefit side, drug marketing techniques could also be applied to help avoid complications if they were used in a manner which helped to report and evaluate drug safety.
Analysis
Drug marketing techniques have been used to allow more rapid introduction of new drugs into the market. Advantages of doing so include expanding the scope of a new drug's potential benefit. At the same time, however, the ability to rapidly introduce a new drug into the market could magnify potential side effects because of the initial high volume of users compared with a more gradual introduction. The introduction of Vioxx and Bextra, Cox-2 antiinflammatories is one such example where widespread use occurred prior to the discovery of significant side effects.
On the other hand, drug marketing technique provide a tool which could be used to enhance the monitoring of adverse drug reactions. A physician reviewer of drug marketing techniques feels that timely reporting of unsafe side effects could limit the number of total complications. In addition, it may allow the best of both world with regard to drug marketing techniques. That is, rapid introduction of effective drugs with simultaneous monitoring to limit as of yet unknown side effects.
