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Researchers focused on ads for three drugs. Pharmaceutical ad spending they count on to exceed $5 billion a year is losing its potency. TNS Media Intelligence puts the drop at 3.9% to $2.4 billion. That if the government gets involved, they'll be worse off." Last month, the Food and Drug online pharmacy Administration stepped up its watch by asking consumers to help watch for false or misleading drug ads. By Nancey Petrecca NEW YORK -- This could make media owners sick. Enbrel (for rheumatoid arthritis), Nasonex (nasal online pharmacy allergies) and Zelnorm (irritable bowel syndrome). Rival ad tracker Nielsen Monitor-Plus calculates the decline at 4.8% to $2.7 billion. (c) 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Magazines and radio stations have seen the most drug ad decline. Two recent reports say drugmakers cut Rx ad spending in the first six months of this year. Among factors driving the drop, he says, are fewer drug launches, sleeping pills fear of government regulation and cuts by a few brands that had spent big. "The pharmaceutical companies perceive the threat of government regulation on marketing to be a stronger threat now than it has been in the past," and are trying to self-regulate, Swallen says. Those declines are an abrupt reversal from the robust spending online drugstore growth of a few years ago. Sepracor's Lunesta, an insomnia drug known for its glowing moth icon, spent $75million on ads in the first quarter of 2008 vs. A service of YellowBrix, Inc.. Takeda Pharmaceuticals North Europe's Rozerem sleep aid, which used offbeat ad characters such as Zebadiah Avigdor and a beaver, cut spending from $91million in the first half of 2007 to $15million in the first half this year. $175million in that quarter in 2007. The reports follow a well-publicized Harvard Medical School study that found consumer ads had little effect on prescription drug sales. And it comes as they already are dealing with large spending declines in some other major ad categories, such as automotive and telecommunications, and recession fears, thanks to the crisis on Stone wall Street. Results sho that direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads "probably aren't as effective as widely perceived," says Elbert Law, lead That bodes ill for the magazines, newspapers and radio and TV outlets for which the ads have been a prescription for profits. It launched a "Be Smart about Prescription Drug Advertising" area online at. Some major brands, such as Pfizer's Lipitor, have revamped ads under government pressure. The site encourages consumers to keep an eye out for false or misleading ads and provides a rufus to report violators. "Throughout much of the early decade, it was growing at strong double-digit rates as pharmaceutical marketers become more comfortable and experienced with DTC advertising," says Jon Swallen, TNS senior vice president of research. Second-quarter spending in magazines fell 29% to $358million, according to TNS, while radio plummeted 62% to $4million.
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