Bloggasm

I’m not sure what the point of this is, but in some cases, patients are allowed to tour the medicine factories that produce the drugs they use. This article claims that it’s because the companies rely on word-of-mouth rather than mass advertising since they only treat rare diseases.

She was among 70 patients, relatives and support group organizers from around the country who took up Talecris Biotherapeutics on a rare, all-expenses-paid invitation: Tour the Clayton plant where Talecris makes treatments for immune disorders, hemophilia, burns and severe blood loss…

But company officials had good reasons to hold the open house. Talecris avoids mass advertising on television or in popular magazines because its customers are small groups of patients with rare diseases. Instead, the company relies on word of mouth and occasional advertisements in medical journals.

Hopes are that the open-house guests will spread the word about Talecris and its blood-based medicines in tight-knit patient communities. The company is considering turning the visit into a regular event.

I’m not sure exactly how this causes word-of-mouth advertising. For one, there’s no positive experience that’s causing the word-of-mouth. Showing someone where the drugs are made doesn’t really do anything.

It is fascinating, however, because it mentions “tight-knit patient communities,” which reminds me of the beginning of Fight Club where Ed Norton visits grief sessions for the terminally ill. But if the diseases are so rare, what are the chances that there would be lots of others within driving distance of you that have the disease?

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