Background: Previous research has shown that a manufacturer's promotional strategy for a brand name drug is typically affected by generic entry. However, little is known about how newer strategies to extend patent life, including product reformulation introduction or obtaining approval to market...

Background: Previous studies of economic content in medical journal advertisements have not examined all types of economic content and have not included advertisements for medical devices. Objective: To examine trends in the economic content of medical device and pharmaceutical advertisements in...

Spending on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) in the US rapidly increased from $US150 million in 1992 to $US1.2 billion in 1998 (to the end of November). Despite this level of expenditure, there is no literature on how DTCA affects patients' level of knowledge about medications, physician...

Background: Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is legal in the US and New Zealand, but illegal in the rest of the world. Little or no research exists on the social welfare implications of DTCA. Aim: To quantify the total costs and benefits associated with both appropriate and inappropriate...

Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals has led to questions of whether consumers benefit from the additional drug information, or are harmed by being induced to pursue prescriptions that are unnecessary or even dangerous. We conducted an empirical study of the relation between...

This paper is the first to estimate the impact of exposure to deceptive advertising on consumption of the advertised product and its substitutes. We study the market for over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss products, a market in which deceptive advertising is rampant and products are generally...