Look around and a typical waiting room may have several primed and pressed business types, not appearing like they are seeking health care appointments at all. The reps are inundating doctors' offices because this kind of marketing has become necessary due to increased competition in the field. There are 68,000 salespeople in the pharmaceutical industry today where in 1994 there were 36,000.
Sales representatives are simply an additional part of the overall marketing strategy to sell drugs.
And today, it is clear that drugs have become big business, unfortunately increasing the overall cost of health care. The issue has raised concerns by many physicians and patients before, but is just now reaching widespread attention through the mainstream media. Now, because of aggressive marketing by its maker, Forest Laboratories, the drug has cornered the antidepressant market. Clearly, AIDS is not the only area where pharmaceutical marketing is booming. Television and print media are full of slick advertisements designed to make drugs look good.