The Pandemic Ripple Effect: Understanding Marketing and Public Policy Opportunities in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic placed a heavy weight on a trillion-dollar global pharmaceutical industry already struggling under the opioid crisis and pricing controversies Although the drug development process typically takes ten or more years, the urgency of COVID-19 forced government regulators to shed tradition for flexibility The race for effective treatments and care reveals knowledge gaps for marketing scholars to fill, enabling us to play a more positive role in future crises We highlight three of these gaps: (1) confusion arising from off-label prescribing and emergency use authorization (EUA), (2) consumer access to testing, and (3) pharmaceutical supply chain issues