Pharma and Twitter

We've started seeing more articles related to the topic of Twitter and the corporate world of Pharma/Biotech. Pharmavoice recently published an article titled, "What is the business case for Tweeting?" (to read the article, click here)

Is Twitter simply a cocktail party where you can mingle and exchange information with others? Or, is Twitter much more than that?

According to this article, 18 pharma companies were using Twitter as of last month. J&J (Johnson and Johnson) appears to be the most active, but you'll also see other large pharma companies such as: AstraZeneca, Novartis, GSK, Pfizer, Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, and several others.

So while we're on this topic of Twitter, let me throw out a few questions:

• Is Twitter simply another marketing tool in this new wave of social media?
• Will the FDA regulate how pharma uses Twitter to communicate with consumers and healthcare professionals?
  
• Is Twitter an effective way to communicate safety issues to healthcare professionals? (the FDA and CDC are using Twitter)
• Is Twitter a way for consumers to send messages directly to Pharma?
• Is Twitter a temporary fad, or is it here to stay?

I encourage you to explore social media and try using Twitter for a few weeks. You won't be impressed if you only try it for a few days. However, give it a few months and see what you think. You have to be willing to follow some people back and exchange ideas (imagine that you're at a social event).

You can start by following my Tweets here: http://twitter.com/DrJosephKim

Career Fair: Biotech and Pharma

Are pharma companies hiring right now? (I thought they were all merging). Well, BioSpace has a career fair coming up next month in New Jersey:

Pharm Country Career Fair
Hanover Marriott
Thursday, June 11, 2009
2pm to 7pm

Here's a list of the exhibiting companies:

• Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Daiichi-Sankyo
• Forest Laboratories
• Hurley Consulting Associates
• ImClone Systems Incorporated
• Kelly Scientific Resources
• Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Vertex

For more info about the career fair, click here