John Mack, on his terrific Pharma Marketing Blog, gives us a pharma marketing perspective on the creation of an Omega-3 fatty acid prescription drug. Excerpt:
"The pharmaceutical industry is often criticized for developing new Rx drugs having little value over current medications. Such drugs are called 'me-too' drugs because of their similarity to existing Rx drugs. Glaxo has now taken this to a completely NEW level: developing an Rx drug that is a 'me-too' of existing over-the-counter dietary supplements. I am talking about LOVAZA, aka omega-3-acid esters approved by the FDA for the treatment of high triglycerides."
Mack goes on to do a cost and ingredient comparison, and explores what might be the clinical reality of the introduction of this new prescription drug. Read his entire blog entry.
Here's an ad for LOVAZA, which Mack cut out of this week's Newsweek Magazine:
The big problem with 'me-too' drugs is that they are chemically very similar to other drugs already available, yet they are marketed as if they were important new breakthroughs, with very high prices. Many new, expensive 'me-too' drugs are not necessarily better than older and less expensive drugs. Most of the time they are compared with placebos and not older drug comparisions.