Top Pharma News in November

Fake Eli Lilly Twitter Account Creates Turmoil while Medicaid Expansion Drives Media Conversation

With an expanding media landscape, new ways for brands to communicate with customers are more readily available. For the pharmaceutical industry, social media platforms help brands acquire market intelligence, collect honest customer feedback and raise attention regarding illness. These top topics were identified by Fullintel Hub, a powerful online tool that allows users to find trending/popular content in various media channels with metrics including reach, sentiment and trending score.

Coverage surrounding the industry over the last month featured the following popular topics: 

• Twitter’s blue tick chaos costs insulin maker Eli Lilly
• Approval of Medicaid expansion in South Dakota’s midterm elections
• Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral pill lowers long-COVID risk

November’s Top Stories:

While South Dakota’s Medicaid expansion trends at the beginning of the month, Twitter’s verification chaos affecting Eli Lilly takes the lead mid-month

During November, the coverage in top-tier outlets and trade publications of the pharmaceutical industry discussed several news topics, including the Q3 earnings released by many pharma giants that represented 3% of the total coverage. Apart from the earnings news, the top three stories trended in the coverage, accounting for 4% of coverage across-the-board in the pharmaceutical industry.

Despite impacting a smaller audience, Twitter’s blue tick chaos sparked a debate and drove social engagement. 

A Break-Down of Recent Trending Stories:

Twitter’s blue tick chaos costs insulin maker Eli Lilly

A fake verified Twitter handle tweeting Eli Lilly issuing free insulin unleashed panic and a messy blow to the pharmaceutical company shortly after Elon Musk launched Twitter’s new $8 verification regime. Fullintel Hub tracked the news surrounding the subject, and a large share of coverage was neutral in sentiment. The verification chaos earned a “laughter” reaction from most social media users as this issue contradicts Musk’s earlier note that the Twitter Blue subscription service would reduce the number of bots and fake accounts on the platform. The news received a trending score of 5 on November 16, and the story received the most social media engagement among the three highlighted stories this month.

Approval of Medicaid expansion in South Dakota’s midterm elections

Medicaid expansion has extended its extraordinary winning streak during South Dakota’s Midterm Elections. The Fullintel Hub recorded the relevant attributes of this story from the date of approval (November 8, 2022). Most social media users displayed their love for the approval, and many “laughed” at this milestone. The story’s coverage received the highest trending score of five on the day of approval, which then decreased during subsequent days.

Pfizer’s Paxlovid antiviral pill lowers long-COVID risk

Fullintel Hub tracked coverage surrounding researchers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs discovering Paxlovid, an antiviral pill lowering the risk of death and hospitalization from COVID-19 that may also be effective against long-term COVID. The study prompted most social media users to express laughter and love, and traditional media showed a mostly positive sentiment. The story’s coverage reached a social engagement score of 12K—falling behind the other top stories in social engagement—with a trending score of 3 on November 8th, 9th, and 14th.