The makers of Zantac, Sanofi ($SNY), got a wakeup call this week as the FDA requested the product be pulled from shelves immediately. Anyone with Zantac should just dump the pills and stop buying or taking it, as it could be extremely hazardous to your health.
So with that strong recommendation by the FDA, a number of things have happened in the last few days. Mostly, people flocked to Sanofi's social media accounts to see what's going on.
The last few weeks saw 3,000 new followers being added on Twitter...
...almost the same number being added on Instagram...
...and two surges in talking about on Facebook! Whew, that's a lot of activity for a pharmaceutical company on social media, you don't normally see that unless people are at risk of dying suddenly. This story has been going on for at least six months, and finally, the ax dropped for Zantac being sold on store shelves.
To top it all off, there was a slight dip in Sanofi's stock price, as investors reacted to the news. Based on what class action lawsuits emerge - which is typical during a product recall like this one - this situation is developing and there could be bigger ramifications to come.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
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