Digital Pharma: Sanofi launches diabetes blog
pharmafile | January 17, 2011 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Digital Pharma blog, Sanofi-Aventis, blog, diabetes
Sanofi-Aventis has ramped up its social media efforts with the launch of a blog about diabetes for US consumers.
The Discuss Diabetes blog builds on the diabetes themed Twitter account and Facebook page Sanofi launched last September and October, respectively in what is a key therapy area for the company.
The blog is featured in the new Digital Pharma links directory alongside industry blogs from Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca.
In an introductory post on Discuss Diabetes Laura Kolodjeski, community manager for Sanofi-Aventis US diabetes, says the new blog’s purpose is to “create a space where we can engage in two-way dialogue”.
Writing about her own role as community manager Laura says: “I see a real opportunity for Sanofi-Aventis US to use social media to connect with people who are living with diabetes every day.
“There is a lot for us to learn from you, and my goal is to spend each day listening and contributing valuable content when appropriate. With each insight and connection made, I hope to better understand what the diabetes community wants from Sanofi-Aventis US and to share that information internally so we can develop needed solutions together.”
The company also has plans to invite guest bloggers to contribute on living with diabetes in the future.
Sanofi and diabetes
Diabetes is a key area for Sanofi, and the company’s chief executive Chris Viehbacher last year stated his aim of overtaking the market share of diabetes specialist Novo Nordisk.
The mainstay of Sanofi’s diabetes portfolio is its blockbuster insulin product Lantus, but the company has an increasingly healthy pipeline in the area.
Injectible treatment lixisenatide is shaping up to rival Novo’s Victoza after promising data was released in September.
Last year also saw Sanofi licence a novel oral anti-diabetic treatment from Metabolex, sign a deal to develop a new treatment which could restore patients’ ability to produce insulin and buy a number of patents for drug delivery technology in diabetes.
Sanofi’s terms of engagement for its new blog
Blogs are more time consuming than other social media tools and occupy tricky ground for pharma – particularly with the FDA having delayed its social media guidance.
Sanofi, despite noting on Discuss Diabetes that “blogging isn’t easy for a healthcare company”, has decided to forged ahead and build on its experience with its diabetes-focused Twitter and Facebook initiatives.
On the blog Sanofi will preview all comments posted as part of “a review process that may take hours, or even days” before publishing them.
The company says some comments may not be posted and, though adverse events aren’t mentioned directly, the firm says it may also need to contact people who comment about “an individual health issue or a particular issue with one of our products”.
Sanofi’s terms of use conclude: “In posts where we discuss our products, we will also provide important information for that product. It is valuable information you need to know about our products, and we encourage you to read it carefully.”
An active diabetes blogging community has emerged over the last five years and pharma has been looking to work with it through initiatives like Roche’s annual Diabetes Social Media Summit US blogger outreach event in the US.
Pharma blogs directory
Sanofi’s Discuss Diabetes is featured in the blogs section of Digital Pharma’s new links directory.
The new section, which went live today, is part of our efforts to build a comprehensive directory of digital pharma initiatives and includes blogs from Abbott, AstraZeneca, GSK, J&J, Lilly and Pfizer.
There are also sections on pharma’s mobile apps and online campaigns, which currently list 65 iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android apps and 70 disease awareness and information campaigns respectively.
Dominic Tyer is web editor for Pharmafocus and InPharm.com and the author of the Digital Pharma blog He can be contacted via email, Twitter or LinkedIn.
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