How Will the Trump Presidency Affect Pharmaceutical Marketing?

Donald Trump’s election win could have significant effects on the pharmaceutical industry, but whether these changes will be good or bad has yet to be seen. Among those in the industry who could be most affected are pharmaceutical marketers, whose job centers around direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription drugs.

Recently, an article published on FiercePharma outlined some current pharmaceutical industry perspectives on what Trump’s presidency could have in store for drugmakers. The industry is currently benefitting from a consistent flow of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals, keeping pharmaceutical marketers busy with advertising the drugs to consumers.

“While pharmaceutical companies may have a wait-and-see approach in some areas, such as pending healthcare legislation, I just don’t see ad spending slowing,” Wendy Blackburn, executive VP at pharmaceutical marketing agency, Intouch Solutions, told FiercePharma. “It’s likely safe to say the general consensus is that Trump’s election is a positive for this industry.”

As long as the FDA continues to approve drugs at the rate its going, industry insiders like John Kamp, executive director at the Coalition for Healthcare Communication, believe that pharmaceutical ad spending should stay the same. However, Trump has announced that he plans to reform the FDA by cutting red tape and expediting the approval of potentially life-saving drugs.

“The only thing that would negatively affect spending is if Trump had Medicare negotiate directly on lowering drug prices,” Bob Ehrlich, chairman-CEO of DTC Perspectives, told FiercePharma. While Ehrlich admitted that this was a possibility, he believes that Trump may lean toward the pharmaceutical industry’s side of the drug pricing debate.

Historically, the pharmaceutical industry has been less-reactive to changes in government compared to other sectors which rely on consumer marketing. This wait-and-see approach is leading many in the industry to hold their speculations until the president-elect takes office next year.