This is simply fascinating. Johnson & Johnson later this month will debut in New York an hour-long documentary about inflammatory pain, which will later roll out to other major cities. The flick, called “Innerstate,” profiles three people who discuss how they suffer from psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

And guess what? Each one details how they find help with such expensive meds as Remicade, which is sold by - that’s right - J&J’s Centocor unit for between $18,000 and $21,000 a year. But J&J swears its not a commercial by another name.

“This is definitely not a 60-minute infomercial. The intent is really to educate patients in a meaningful way,” Mike Parks, a spokesman for J&J’s Centocor unit, who is also the film’s executive producer tells Reuters. “Every single patient talks about the exploration - how they tried other things that didn’t work.” No drugs are mentioned by name in the film, he adds.

“This is a whole new dimension in direct-to-consumer advertising,” counters Jerry Avorn, a Harvard researcher and author of “Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks and Costs of Prescription Drugs.”What makes me edgy about it is if it is going to be a commercial, you should know it’s a commercial. I’m very troubled by the blurring of the lines between advertising and patient education.”

Okay, we know DTC ads are under attack for flouting side effects and pushing consumers to ask their docs for meds they don’t need. So J&J is being clever. Let’s give them that. But let’s not pretend a ‘documentary’ isn’t an ad when the producer has such a vested interest.

What’s next? A Broadway musical featuring children with ADHD who sing and dance their way to a happy ending after taking Concerta?

[tags]Advertising, Johnson & Johnson, Remicade[/tags]