With New Sleeping Pill, New Acceptability?

Get ready for the next big thing, a pill for insomnia designed for long-term use. This is a huge market that the pharmaceuticals would love to further exploit, since when one starts on sleeping pills, they are unable or unwilling to stop (think PPIs for GERD). Of course, the big marketing push is coming:

Sepracor, a still unprofitable company based in Marlborough, Mass., plans to say in its advertisements that Lunesta can be used “night after night after night,” W. James O’Shea, the president, told securities analysts in a conference call yesterday.

He said 1,250 sales representatives would call on doctors and the company would spend at least $60 million next year to advertise to consumers, including on prime-time and cable television.

Although we know that cognitive behaviour therapy works better than pills, it is not readily available – which is what the drug company is counting on.

Medpundit also chimes in on this.