Symbyax Ad

Dante had Virgil to lead him out of the dark woods; now I suppose we have Symbyax. The back-page advertisement for Symbyax in the February 20 issue shows a man with a lantern (emblazoned with an “S,” presumably standing for Symbyax) leading a woman out of the dark woods into the bright and verdant countryside.

This advertisement is disturbing in several ways, but chiefly I am disturbed that this is an advertisement with virtually no written content. No explicit claims are made with regard to Symbyax's presumed efficacy or indications, much less its side effects. The advertisement relies on visual imagery, and presumably we are supposed to draw certain conclusions about the efficacy of this drug based upon the picture presented.

Does this advertisement tell us something instructive about what pharmaceutical companies think about our prescribing practices? I hope not, because I think it implies that our prescribing can be influenced by“ feel-good” associations devoid of established facts. Perhaps we are meant to be so intrigued by the picture that we visit the Web site shown in the advertisement, but it is hard to believe that this is its sole purpose. I do not know for sure just what the company intended. I can say, however, that the association I now make with Symbyax is that it is marketed by a company that doesn't want me to know too much or think too hard about its products.