[refurb]

It seems crazy that marketing takes up such a large percentage of expenditure, it's not only wasteful but also introduces perverse incentives.

How much do drug companies spend on marketing? I've only ever seen article mention SG&A which is an accounting catch all for more than just marketing.

[rayiner]

I have my concerns about drug advertising, but pharma company SG&A isn't out of line with say tech company SG&A: For 2014-2015, the ratio between R&D spending and SG&A spending is 0.59 at Pfizer, 0.75 at Google, 0.56 at AstraZeneca, 0.43 at Apple, and 0.58 at Microsoft.

[Fomite]

Though in fairness, Apple isn't trying to get you to ask a licensed professional who has years of education about the new Apple Watch.

[spullara]

They might once it does glucose measurements... And I hope they do.