Download Phillips Bridget Phillips Jim Beatty ENGL-2010-F16

Phillips 1
Bridget Phillips
Jim Beatty
ENGL-2010-F16-Beatty
14 December 2016
Process Reflection
I picked the topic of pharmaceutical marketing because of the relevance to my personal
life and future career. For as long as I can remember, my mother has struggled with Crohn’s
Disease. She’s had to deal with getting prescribed drugs that had life-threatening side effects for
the opportunity of living more comfortably with her autoimmune disease. For my future career, I
aspire to be a microbiologist with a focus in pathology and it’s basically in the job description to
have to deal with pharmaceutical companies. Both the current and future aspects of my life
involve these companies and I was intrigued to learn more about the research and development,
as well as the marketing aspect of pharmaceuticals.
An open letter is rather informal and more direct to an audience, so I directly addressed
the pharmaceutical companies and their prominent relationship with doctors. By speaking to
these companies in general, I would have a broader audience compared to just choosing a
specific company. The introduction began by establishing that I was an aspiring microbiologist
and wrote about the influence that pharmaceutical companies use on doctors to market their
drugs. For the body paragraphs, I had an organized outline and tried to stick to only one aspect of
the issue per paragraph. Out of my main points, the one that I believe was the most powerful was
that doctors should make their own decisions with prescriptions without being bribed by the
companies.
Phillips 2
A report is far more formal and lacks a point of view, so I focused on discussing the types
of marketing that pharmaceutical companies use and the impact that those marketing types had
on consumers. The introduction started with a statistic related to the amount of money that
pharmaceutical companies spend on marketing and how numerous types of marketing can
influence consumers to buy their product. The body paragraphs dealt with discussing direct
marketing, commercials, marketing involving doctors, and the regulation of ads. My main point
was in the last paragraph and elaborated on how marketing is the last stage of a drug’s lifecycle,
yet it is the primary focus for most companies. As for the conclusion, I summarized the body
paragraphs, as well as reinforced that marketing is being overused and is full of biased
misinformation.
An argumentative essay has a counterargument and is full of viewpoints, so I argued that
pharmaceutical companies should focus more on research that marketing. As for the
counterargument, I addressed the contradictions related to pharmaceutical company statements
involving how they care more about consumers than profit. The introduction started with an indepth look at the development of drugs and addressed the lack of money being spent compared
to the marketing budget. The body paragraphs developed the aspects involving the lack of trust
from consumers, the statements of companies, the focus of marketing, and the five stages of drug
development. For the main point, I elaborated on how pharmaceutical companies need to think
about their future and use their self-interest to recognize the importance of focusing on the
research and development of drugs. As for the conclusion, I restated the main aspects of
development and ended strong by discussing how their ignorance will be the death of their
companies.
Phillips 3
My research greatly impacted my thinking and it helped me shape my essays to be
accurate and informative. I learned more about the process of drug development and just how
pharmaceutical companies can significantly influence the FDA, doctors, and consumers with
marketing. Before these papers, I knew little about the background of pharmaceutical research
and development, and even how little time it can take for an advertisement or drug to be
approved. Now, I can better understand each of the five steps related to a drugs life cycle through
development, as well as the financial actions of pharmaceutical companies.
All and all, the knowledge I gained from these essays allowed me to improve my
viewpoints of pharmaceutical companies. While I wish that these companies were more truthful
with their actions, it still concerns me that they tend spend far more money on marketing than all
research and development combined. I enjoyed writing every essay for this class and I hope to
continue to enjoy writing more in the future, especially related to a pharmaceutical theme.