Pfizer partners with Physicians'

Pfizer partners with physicians' online forum.

"A year-old online forum where 30,000 doctors swap medical observations has lined up a partnership with Pfizer Inc." However, this "alliance...runs counter to the site's founding ideal to give doctors a place to communicate without the pharmaceutical industry listening in." Pfizer and Sermo, Inc. will "work with...[Sermo's] participating doctors to agree on terms allowing Pfizer's hundreds of staff doctors to view postings and reply."

The Wall Street Journal (10/15, B4, Johnson) adds, "Facing financial pressures as some of its best-selling products lose patent protection, Pfizer is looking for more-efficient ways to reach the doctors who prescribe its medicines." "Under the arrangement, Pfizer-affiliated doctors will be able to talk candidly with the site's 31,000 members, potentially giving the company insights into prescribing patterns and a way to show doctors data on its drugs."

But, the Journal notes, "It is risky territory for Pfizer" because "[t]he drug industry's interactions with doctors are highly scrutinized by regulators and lawmakers for signs that they are offering financial incentives to drive sales or promoting their drugs for unapproved uses."

Consequently, Pfizer plans to discuss this venture with the FDA. "The site, Sermo.com, features more than 50 daily posts on physician practices. These range from advice on procedures, how to remove a saw blade from a man's thumb in one case, to opinions on therapies."