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In addition to network and cable TV, Wyeth has launched a Web site, www.TalkingToYourDoctor.com.

The campaign is symptomatic of two trends in pharma right now: First, the move away from product-oriented campaigns (where consumers are given a hard sell about a specific brand) to disease-state, or “educational,” campaigns, where consumers view a relatively brand-free pitch to consider talking to their doctor if they have a particular health problem.

That move, already adopted by Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb, has been largely prompted by increasing consumer cynicism to high-profile DTC advertising and the rising price of medicine.

And second, the osteoporosis category is heating up.

In April, Roche launched Boniva, a once-monthly pill to prevent bone-loss.

The launch is a direct threat to the DTC leader in the category, Merck's Fosamax, which has $3.2 billion in sales.

The two other treatments currently on the market are Eli Lilly & Co.'s Evista and Procter & Gamble's Actonel.

Racing Wyeth's Bazedoxifene down the R&D pipeline is Pfizer Inc., which, according to industry reports, is prepping Oporia for approval by the FDA; and Amgen's AMG 162, also ...

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