Jenny M. Markell

1 month ago | drugtopics.com | Brian Nowosielski |Luke A. Turnock |Jenny M. Markell

With an exponential rise in social media use combined with noticeable increases in drug advertisements, current drug market trends could lead to the normalization of specific prescription drugs for populations not approved to use them.

1 month ago | drugtopics.com | Brian Nowosielski |Luke A. Turnock |Jenny M. Markell

As society becomes more connected than ever thanks to emerging technologies, corporations are increasingly savvy with how they disseminate advertisements and marketing—whether it be through social media, television, streaming platforms, and more. One product of this increased connectivity is a noticeable rise in drug advertisements, making specific drugs for certain disease states common knowledge to everyday individuals.

2 months ago | drugtopics.com | Brian Nowosielski |Jenny M. Markell

From the marketing of drugs with low-added benefit to manufacturers’ inability to follow FDA guidelines, direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs has increased in the US and is beginning to raise alarms. “Under FDA guidelines, pharmaceutical companies are supposed to provide a balanced view of drugs in advertising in terms of their risks and benefits,” said Jenny Markell, BA, PhD Candidate of Health and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

2 months ago | drugtopics.com | Brian Nowosielski |Jenny M. Markell

Formerly known as black-box warnings, the FDA’s boxed warning labels are the strongest safety warning that an approved drug can receive.1 Despite the FDA encouraging drugs with greater risk to include these warnings, the FDA does not require them, leading to adverse events and mixed patient preferences for prescription drugs.

2 months ago | drugtopics.com | Brian Nowosielski |Jenny M. Markell

Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs has become normalized in the US as top-selling, brand-name drugs flood the media with the ways they can benefit patients. However, as one of the only countries in the world that permits this advertising, research has shown dangerous trends that can mislead consumers and potentially harm patients.