Graphic from Time

Pfizer’s Twitter feed seems to be benefiting from the same ingredient that powers its blockbuster erectile drug.

After only six days @pfizer_news had jumped to 631 followers by 8 o’clock this morning.

Kudos to communications SVP Sally Sussman and global media VP Ray Kerins for prevailing in a heavily regulated industry whose litigation-wary greybeards are notoriously conservative when it comes to social media.

Pharma lawyers have argued that any communications through channels feeding directly to patients — without the traditional bureaucratic review of copy, photos, video and other content — could go south quickly.

“What if” scenarios abound.  In a litigious world where the prescribing information required by regulators is often the size of an encylopedia, it’s easy to see a plaintiff complaining that he or she notified a drugmaker about an adverse reaction via Twitter but got no reply only to suffer….

For those and many other reasons, pharma has arrived later to the Twitter party than many other consumer-facing brands.  Those brave enough to tweet about remedies, clinical trials and medical conferences have taken markedly different approaches.

The most conversational pharmatweep this far is Johnson & Johnson’s Marc Monseau, who is followed by 1,745 and follows 1,096.  He has updated 316 times since launching the @JNJComm feed to supplement the New Jersey firm’s two-year-old “JNJ BTW” blog.

Novartis, based in Switzerland, has published 86 updates on its @novartis Twitter feed since November.  Unlike Monseau, there’s no named personality behind the tweets,  which are mainly 140-character teasers of releases on the Novartis media web site and some occasional industry news.  The lack of interaction is stark — with the company following only 10 on Twitter despite attracting an audience of 2,328.

Germany’s Boehringer was lauded by Jim Edwards on the life sciences news site BioValley Basel for allowing its Twitter personality — 2,178 followers and following 1,657 — to “engage in some harmless banter” rather than toeing the corporate line.

Merck seems to be using the Twitter community only as a recruiting tool, but I question how many Twitter users want to work for a company that’s afraid to engage in a more meaningful way.

In New York, Pfizer’s new Twitter staffers were quick to reply today when I sent a direct message to ask why there were a separate @pfizer (”it’s not Pfizer and not official”) and @pfizer_news Twitter pages.  That kind of willingness to snap quick replies to customers, media and others can only help build trust and goodwill with everyone except the legal department.

I will miss my Viagra note pad. And my Rogain roller ball pen. And my Nexium coffee mug.

Expect to see more doctors and dentists shopping at Staples, now that drug companies have enacted a voluntary ban against branded tsochtkes. Any doctor that didn’t have the sense to stockpile hundreds of Vioxx pens before the pain reliever was pulled from the market will now have to join the ranks of common folk and write with a 19 cent Bic ballpoint.

Naturally, the $19 billion advertising specialties industry is in a tizzy.

Pharmaceutical companies were the largest single purchaser of branded giveaway items, plunking down customer Andy Cohen, editor of Counselor magazine, published by the Advertising Specialty Institute.

If Cohen’s numbers are correct, the fact that drug makers accounted for 10% of all the advertising specialties sold in 2007, that means approximately $1.9 billion has been shaved off the marketing budgets of companies like Pfizer, Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb.

The Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America says its new code, governing interaction with medical care providers, seeks to stop the many marketing freebies to focus on four things:

• inform healthcare professionals about the benefits and risks of our products to help advance appropriate patient use,

• provide scientific and educational information,

• support medical research and education, and

• obtain feedback and advice about our products through consultation with medical experts.

This seems like a boon for public relations agencies and marketing services vendors who have expertise in healthcare. By not gifting doctors with pens and logo-embroidered clothing, there’s a significant amount of marketing money that can be re-allocated to more substantive awareness programs that ultimately should benefit the drug companies, doctors and patients.

Now that we know the next big growth category for PR agencies in 2009, one big question remains unanswered:  Will the pen manufactures and tsotchke sales reps qualify for an AIG-style government bailout?

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