The pharmaceutical industry has pulled back on marketing to physicians and consumers, yet some enduring patterns persist. According to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, advertising peaked in 2004, with industry promotion to physicians declining nearly 25 percent by 2010, to $27.7 billion or 9 percent of sales. Similar declines were seen in direct-to-consumer advertising, which remains concentrated among a small number of products. The number of products promoted to providers peaked at over 3,000 in 2004, and declined by approximately 20 percent by 2010. Despite these changes, there was little change in the split of marketing between primary care physicians and specialists, and the proportion of all promotion taking place in physicians’ offices also remains unchanged. Free samples and physician detailing accounted for over 70 percent of promotional expenditures in 2010, with the remainder comprised by consumer advertising as well as physician marketing through journal ads, e-promotion and sponsored conferences and meetings. The results are featured in the February 2013 issue of the open-access journal PLOS ONE. - www.jhsph.edu