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You do not have to hire a publicist or advertise through a booking service to promote your books on talk radio. My friend Stephen Schochet and I have been scheduling our own radio appearances for several years. Working independently, w

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

e have, between us, logged over 1,000 interviews, and we continue to sell our books, CDs, and audiotapes year in and year out.

Our system may not be right for everyone. After all, we are both pretty good amateur publicists. We know ho

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

w to dangle bait and reel the stations in, and our schedules are fairly flexible. But if you feel comfortable promoting your products, will work harder for yourself than anyone else will, and are well-organized and disciplined, you may

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

want to take advantage of our experience.

Opening Moves

For starters, we work with a comprehensive database of radio shows–one that I research and constantly update–and contact the hosts or the producers directly ourselves. Sometime

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

we call them. Other times we fax, and sometimes we e-mail them. There is no one magical right or wrong initial approach. Each show operates a little differently, and we often like to mix up the routine.

Regardless of how we make the

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

initial contact, we always follow up. We never assume that the show is not interested if we do not get an immediate response. Hosts, after all, are extremely busy people, and on any given day, they are inundated with pitches from avail

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

able guests from all over the country.

In fact, we often have to follow up several times. Steve once made as many as 15 calls to one show before he finally got booked. He was told (and he had heard this) that the reason the producer f

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

inally called him was precisely because he was so persistent.

Of course, you do not want to become a pest. Again, there are no hard and fast rules about how many times you may have to follow up. My feeling is that if you do not get a

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

esponse after three or four attempts, just go on to the next show. Be sure to keep good records, though, of when you contacted a particular show and of the names of your contacts there. Chances are that six months or a year from now th

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

e host and/or producer will be gone, and you can always try the next host and/or producer.

Materials for a Broader List

When we fax or e-mail, we always provide the hosts with a TV Guide-like capsule description of our books, a list

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

of questions they can ask us, a brief biographical sketch, and information on where the book is available.

I do not want to imply that many talk-show hosts are lazy, but you would be surprised how many times the hosts repeat the infor

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

mation verbatim. Not every host will ask the same questions you provide them, in the exact same order, but many of them will.

We also do not limit ourselves to the top 100 talk shows. Many news shows and drive-time morning shows on ol

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ies, contemporary hits, and even country stations need to fill air space and are looking for interesting guests. These shows are not listed in the more popular media directories, but we have been able to identify them simply by calling

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

the station and talking to the Program Director.

Operating as an Expert

We also get more interviews by positioning ourselves as experts in our fields (in our case, Hollywood) and by offering commentary and anecdotes about topics in

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

the news. For example, even though I promote The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book outside of California, I rarely pitch myself as an expert on L.A. sightseeing. Instead I offer to talk about breaking news stories like Robert Blake’s trial,

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

or the falsification of George Harrison’s death certificate, and tie them in with the other notorious Hollywood scandals and murders that my book covers.

Similarly, after September 11, when talk radio seemed to be "all terrorism, all

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

the time," Steve adapted and continued to get interviews by offering himself as an expert on Hollywood’s response to wars and national crises. He also got Valentine’s Day bookings by offering to talk about Hollywood romances, and booki

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

ngs in March by talking about the stories and legends behind the Academy Awards. After a celebrity dies, he gets even more interviews by offering to tell anecdotes about that celebrity.

Once we’ve done an interview, we always send a "

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

thank you" note to the host or producer. We also call the station’s receptionist to provide information about the book because listeners who don’t remember or didn’t catch your name or your book’s title may call the station for additio

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

nal information. The receptionist is the first and very often the only person the listener will ever reach. You’ll want to be sure this radio employee has not only your name and the book title but also your URL and ordering information

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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