Drug marketers shift focus to cost issues. (Briefings )

It's not enough anymore for drug makers to prove to the world that a drug works and is safe. Under intense pressure to contain costs, drug manufacturers today must also prove that a drug is cost-effective.

This new trend is called "pharmaco-economics," a term used to describe the relatively new discipline that combines pharmacology and economics. Pharmaco-economics is bringing a new measurement criterion to the forefront of pharmaceutical marketing: cost benefit or comparative efficacy. As a result, public relations professionals will be called upon to develop communication campaigns designed to convince insurance companies and health care organizations that a particular drug or cure is worth …