MediaPost Highlights Need to Move From Awareness to Action
“Pharma Ads Losing Effectiveness? Try Direct-To-Patient Programs”
A recent MediaPost article spotlighted findings based on a survey conducted among pharma commercial leaders by the Digital Health Coalition (DHC) in partnership with ixlayer, reinforcing industry momentum toward direct-to-patient (DTP) models as a more effective alternative to traditional drug advertising.
Key insights from the article:
- According to the survey, 82% of pharma leaders say that “disconnected and fragmented” healthcare experiences — including prior authorization delays and product access barriers — are reducing the effectiveness of consumer ad spend.
- Meanwhile, 94% of companies surveyed report they are either running, planning to launch, or exploring DTP programs. Roughly half believe DTP will become standard practice across the industry within five years.
- Among the biggest hurdles cited for adopting DTP: 45% of respondents flagged compliance and legal concerns, and 44% pointed to regulatory / policy uncertainty.
- On the flip side, the greatest anticipated benefit of DTP: accelerating time to treatment, improving patient access, and more directly linking marketing investment to measurable patient outcomes.
As MediaPost notes, these findings reinforce a broader shift in pharma away from marketing alone, and toward solutions that close the gap between awareness and care.
For ixlayer, the article underscores exactly why we built our DTP infrastructure: to enable pharma brands to move beyond “reach and recall,” and deliver real-world access, care, and outcomes for patients.
Read ixlayer’s EOY research report: Closing the Awareness Gap: What Pharma Executives and Patients Expect from Direct-to-Patient Programs in 2025
Read MediaPost’s coverage of ixlayer: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/409463/pharma-ads-losing-effectiveness-try-direct-to-pat.html
About ixlayer
ixlayer has the only end-to-end, direct-to-patient platform built for biopharma and optimized for patient choice. We help biopharma companies connect with patients from testing to treatment with speed, transparency, control and impact.
