Drug firms hype disease as sales ploy, industry chief claims

A senior pharmaceutical company executive says estimates of the prevalence of diseases are often exaggerated.

Using the example of his company's promotion of “social phobia,” Fred Nadjarian, managing director of Roche in Australia, said: “The marketing people always beat [hype] these things up. It's just natural enthusiasm.”

The candid comments come as the pharmaceutical industry intensifies its push to loosen European regulations on direct-to-consumer promotions involving both “disease awareness campaigns” and straight advertisements for …