Older is better: Consumers prefer older drugs

Despite increasing research attention to healthcare marketing in academia and the concerted effort of the pharmaceutical industry to market its latest products, limited research has explored the effect of launch time on individuals' drug choices. Building upon findings in medical literature that many newly launched drugs are indeed no better than existing ones, this study found that the majority of consumers consistently prefer older drugs when both options are claimed equally safe and/or effective. The reason is that consumers disregard declarative information and, instead, make their own inferences. Although there is a small segment that chooses the newer option for what they infer to be its higher efficacy, most consumers believe that an older drug is both safer and more efficacious. Further, promotion‐focused consumers are more likely to choose newer drugs. The underlying mechanism for how promotion focus affects choice is identified. A sample of practicing doctors cross‐validated our findings, which have implications for practitioners in the pharmaceutical industry.