Levitra, Chantix top ranking of effective pharma websites

With pharma's online marketing growing apace, we're naturally curious about the results. Drug websites can be snazzy, but do they really help pump up sales? Well, a new report from Decision Resources' Manhattan Research division suggests that at least some branded drug sites inspire web surfers to follow up with their doctors.

Based on an online survey of 6,606 U.S. adults who've researched drug information online, the report found that specific website features inspired patients to act. "A common theme among top websites is content and structure designed to lead consumers to talk to their doctor[s]," Manhattan Research explains.

Some sites actually feature worksheets or discussion guides designed to help patients start the conversation with their physicians. And several of the more successful websites belong to drugs that are heavily advertised on TV and in print--the erectile dysfunction med Levitra and contraceptive pill Yaz, for instance--so it might be that websites serve as stepping stones to the doctors' office.

Without further ado, here's the Manhattan Research ranking of the most successful brand sites and the companies behind them: Levitra (GlaxoSmithKline/Bayer); stop-smoking drug Chantix (Pfizer); ED remedy Cialis (Eli Lilly); heartburn treatment Nexium (AstraZeneca); Yaz (Bayer); fibromyalgia and pain drug Lyrica (Pfizer); birth control product NuvaRing (Merck); asthma treatment Symbicort (AstraZeneca); ED drug Viagra (Pfizer); and sleep inducer Lunesta (Sunovion).

- get the Manhattan Research release
- see the report from Manhattan Research