Another Pharma Facebook Page Closes

Janssen UK unit of Johnson & Johnson has recenty issued a statement that they will be closing down their Facebook Page "Psoriasis 360". Their reasons for closing the page are due to comments that involve specific mentions of other drugs as well as offensive language. This was one of the first Pharma pages in the industry to allow comments.

According to Pharmalot, a Janssen spokesman commented:

“We are sorry to announce that we will be closing this Facebook page shortly. It is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we want to be upfront and honest about why we feel it’s necessary. As a UK pharmaceutical company, we – quite rightly – comply with strict rules, particularly in relation to communications with members of the public,

These rules mean that whenever a post on this page mentions a specific drug by name, or talks about the efficacy of a particular treatment is (or its side effects), we have to ask for it to be changed, or pull it. Since the page was launched nearly 18 months ago, we have found ourselves removing a larger and larger proportion of posts, stifling worthwhile discussions.

This page was created - in a spirit of innovation - as a space for people affected by psoriasis to share experiences and information, and to discuss psoriasis and related topics. Janssen is proud to have provided this forum at a time when they weren’t as widespread as they are today. But instead of our original intention of facilitating meaningful conversations, our experience shows we are actually hampering conversations that could take place freely on a page run by a patient organization.”

This July at ePharma Summit West, Christy Cooper, Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook will be on hand to present How Do YOU Make Social Media Work for Pharma? to take many of the issues Pharma has with using Facebook head on. If you'd like to join Christy, register for ePharma Summit West and mention code XP1756BLOG to save 15% off the standard rate!

Do you agree with Janssen's decision to close down their Facebook page? Is it a step back for Pharma who is trying to connect with their customers in a social media world? Or was it the right thing to do?https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...summitblog.com


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