Big Pharma's Facebook Fail

UCB Pharma (UCB.BR) has an Epilepsy Facebook page that doesn't mention it's published by UCB. And AstraZeneca (AZN) has a page for Nexium that does not let visitors post messages on its Wall. Adweek revisits the long-established phenom of drug companies not liking social media in case patients start telling them about adverse events, and because the FDA has been slow to give the industry guidelines on its use.

The Web abhors a vaccuum, so people have been busy setting up Facebook pages without the companies' permission:

Here's Viagra's page.

Here's Seroquel's.

And here's aspirin.

• Previously:
• Bayer Tries New Google Drug Ad Format But Lawyers Spoil the Party
• FDA Seeks Advice From Blogger; Google Solves Pharma's Ad Problems
• FDA's Web 2.0 Hearing Recalls Its Unintentionally Hilarious Panel From 1996: "What Is the Internet?"
• FDA to Hold Hearing on Social Media, Web 2.0; Long Overdue Guidance Could Be On Its Way