Shire's ADHD website

Digital Pharma: Byte-sized roundup

pharmafile | January 8, 2010 | News story | Medical Communications Diabetes UK, NICE, Shire, ViiV, digital pharma, doctors.net, iphone 

Includes online petition against NICE decision, Shire brings ADHD to Twitter, ViiV joins Twitter, Doctors.net.uk launches iPhone app and Diabetes UK scoops web award

An online petition calling on UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to overturn NICE’s preliminary rejection of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sprycel (dasatinib) and Novartis Tasigna (nilotinib), two chronic myeloid leukaemia treatments, has gathered more than 6,500 signatories. The petition, hosted on the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office, will remain open until 11 January and aims to influence NICE’s final guidance, which is expected in April.

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Shire is using Twitter to raise awareness of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The company’s US-focused ADHDSupport account mainly supports its stateside website of the same name. But don’t expect much conversation – a prominent message on its Twitter page notes that Shire is at present unable to follow other users of the micro-blogging service, and most tweets link to pages on adhdsupport.com.

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Still on Twitter and ViiV Healthcare, the HIV-focused GlaxoSmithKline-Pfizer joint venture, has taken an account.

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Doctors.net.uk has launched a free iPhone app offering healthcare news and access to its podcast library. The online network is used by over 50,000 UK doctors a week ,around 1,000 of whom access via an iPhone, but the app will available to anyone who wants to use it, not just Doctors.net.uk’s members.

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Diabetes UK’s website scooped two awards in the 2009 People’s Choice Best Website of the Year awards. The UK charity took gongs for Best as well as Most Popular non-profit site. More recently its diabeteschallenge.org.uk site won the Interactive Media Awards’ (IMA) ‘Best in Class’ award, with a score of 481 out of a possible 500. The fund-raising site wants visitors to sign up for a challenge in 2010 and its social media efforts naturally include a Twitter account (adding to the charity’s UK and Wales accounts).

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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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