Big pharma is paying “patient influencers” to mislead TikTok users about drugs like Wegovy.

Big pharmaceutical companies pay so-called “patient influencers” to create content that can mislead them. tik tak and Instagram followers, experts warn.

As trust in pharmaceutical companies declines, drug makers are cashing in on real patients turned social media influencers to spread the word about their products.

The influx of posts on TikTok and Twitter drew attention to drugs such as the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, leading some to take without a doctor’s prescription.

The hashtags Ozempic and Wegovy are among the most popular for pharmaceuticals on TikTok.  Many patients share their experience of using drugs and helping them lose weight, although not all reviews are completely positive.  Videos get from hundreds of thousands to millions of views.

The hashtags Ozempic and Wegovy are among the most popular for pharmaceuticals on TikTok. Many patients share their experience of using drugs and helping them lose weight, although not all reviews are completely positive. Videos get from hundreds of thousands to millions of views.

A University of Colorado study published this week in Journal of Medical Internet Research found that patients who later become social media influencers often give prescription drug advice to their followers and have close ties to drug manufacturers.

Erin Willis, lead author of the study and assistant professor of advertising, public relations and media design, said the practice “raises ethical questions.”

Between March and April 2022, Ms. Willis interviewed 26 influential patients with conditions such as lupus, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, HIV, celiac disease, chronic migraines and perimenopause.

Most of them were “micro-influencers” with between 1,000 and 40,000 followers.

Dealing with such people is usually cheaper for advertisers than with celebrities who have more followers.

More than half (69%) have worked with a pharmaceutical company in one way or another.

These include being on advisory boards, talking to doctors and researchers, or talking to key audiences.

About 15% of those surveyed said they shared new releases from pharmaceutical companies with their subscribers if the information was relevant.

Twelve percent read medical research and simply shared the results with their online audience.

The spread of this information was not prompted by sponsorship or payments from a pharmaceutical company – the influencers said they were doing it because they “wanted to earn the trust of their followers.”

One participant said, “I feel like I have a unique skill set when I’m not trained in migraine neuroscience, but I can read peer-reviewed studies and get the gist of it, except for really technical science. – parts.

The research paper states, “Patient influencers wanted to be an accurate and trustworthy source for their followers and never wanted to mislead other patients.”

But some were paid to host content for pharmaceutical companies.

The patient influencers used were also a curated sample provided by Health Union, a digital health company, which Ms Willis admitted meant they were likely responsible.

Ms Willis said social media users often don’t see the difference between a sponsored ad and a genuine personal post.

She said: “Health and digital literacy in this country is relatively low. The fact that non-medical patients are sharing drug information widely should be of concern to us.”

Several participants said that subscribers often send them direct messages to get more detailed information about dosage and side effects.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising has been popular since its inception in the 1980s.

Still legal only in the US and New Zealand, it allows drug companies to target consumers directly, not just through doctors.

Approximately half of the patients who ask their doctor about a drug after seeing an advertisement on TV receive it.

DTC drug advertising is a booming market that has grown almost five-fold from 1997 to 2016.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires influencers to disclose whether they have received payment through hashtags such as #ad or #sponsored, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rules about what to say on social media. .

They are open to interpretation, however, and features like videos, disappearing content, and direct messages can be tricky to handle.

Ms Willis said that regulators should ensure that all new platforms are monitored.

She said: “This is happening, with or without regulation, and people need to know about it.”

Notable users of Wegovy include tech mogul Elon Musk. He credited the drug with the creation him “fit, fit and healthy” and said:and lost nearly 30 pounds (13.6 kg) while taking it.

He revealed he used it last October when a fan asked him the secret to his new thinner look.

“Starving,” Musk, 51, replied, before adding, “And Vegovi.”