Pfizer is making good on those recent threats and will soon run them on tv and in magazines. The desperate drugmaker wants to go directly to diabetics to salvage its failing insulin inhaler, which has bombed due to a high price tag and its cumbersome design (it looks like a bong, if you didn’t already know).

The television ads will target newly diagnosed diabetics who may not want to inject themselves daily, Ian Read, president of Pfizer’s worldwide pharmaceutical operations, told Bloomberg News. “The heart of the issue in diabetes therapy is the delay in getting patients to begin taking insulin, a delay that often lasts more than eight years.”

The device has been faring very poorly. Sales last year were just a few million dollars and Pfizer sales reps have carped about being unable to meet quotas. Recent market share data shows Exubera losing still more ground.

Of course, Pfizer will likely annoy some doctors and politicians, who don’t fancy ads that encourage patients to demand expensive treatments. Exubera costs about $600 more than injectable insulin. But who cares if insurers pay for that bong-like experience?

[tags]Advertising, Exubera, Pfizer[/tags]