Pharma feeds multiply on Twitter

Pharma may not be the most Twitter-savvy industry. But drugmakers have more toes in the Twitterverse than ever: According to Eye on FDA, at least 44 pharma companies have a Twitter feed, and altogether, drugmakers tweet from 200 different handles.

About half of the companies have just one news stream on the social-media network. Twenty-three have more than one, and one company operates as many as 21, Eye on FDA's census found. Companies with multiple feeds apparently are trying to target various audience niches.

How do those feeds break down? Big Pharma tends to segregate their Twitter news by country, partly because of different rules governing release of information. Product feeds are common, too; Eye on FDA says they're an opportunity to not only get news out about drugs or devices, but also to offer customer service. And then there are disease-oriented feeds, some of which are part of an overall social-media disease-awareness strategy.

Recruitment is another biggie: Companies are sending out hiring notices, and some field multiple feeds organized by geographic region and language. Some feeds focus specifically on recruiting in specialty areas, such as oncology.

- read the Eye on FDA piece