Drug Makers to Press for Guidance on Web Marketing

Eager to expand use of the Web to advertise their products, pharmaceutical giants, including Eli Lilly (LLY) and Pfizer (PFE), are heading to Washington this week to call on the Food and Drug Administration to provide guidelines for marketing prescription drugs online.

Wayne Gattinella, CEO of WebMD, is among the drug-industry leaders expected to attend Thursday’s FDA hearing on online advertising.

Drug companies are dabbling with Internet advertising, but their efforts have been minimal. Most of the ads promote broader health or corporate initiatives, rather than individual medicines. That’s chiefly due to industry fears of running afoul of regulators.

Seeking a bigger piece of one of the country’s largest ad categories, Web companies including Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO) and WebMD Health (WBMD) are also planning to attend Thursday’s hearing at the FDA, which has been scrutinizing drug makers’ digital marketing efforts.

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