Random data or research tool? How social media is viewed by pharma

Social media has been part of daily life for most people for the majority of the last decade, with Facebook, Linked In and Twitter synonymous with connectivity and modern life.

This has understandably seeped into businesses and corporate life, blurring the lines between business and our personal lives. Most pharma and biotech companies now have their own social media accounts, which they use to engage with the media, industry execs and even patients. Online presence is generally growing in the industry; although some of smaller emerging companies remain invisible on popular platforms such as Twitter.

Big pharma and small biotech companies are now looking at how they can use social media to benefit their patient engagement and clinical research. Yet there seemed to be confusing social media news coming out of the pharma sphere this week.