The role and value of pharmaceutical marketing.

Pharmaceutical marketing is the last element of an information continuum, where research concepts are transformed into practical therapeutic tools and where information is progressively layered and made more useful to the health care system. Thus, transfer of information to physicians through marketing is a crucial element of pharmaceutical innovation. By providing an informed choice of carefully characterized agents, marketing assists physicians in matching drug therapy to individual patient needs. Pharmaceutical marketing is presently the most organized and comprehensive information system for updating physicians about the availability, safety, efficacy, hazards, and techniques of using medicines. The costs of pharmaceutical marketing are substantial, but they are typical of high-technology industries that must communicate important and complex information to sophisticated users. These costs are offset by savings resulting from proper use of medicines and from lower drug costs owing to price competition.