OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to estimate the causal effect of the publication of drug-specific clinical and health economic and outcomes research (HEOR) publications on US drug product sales. METHODS: Quarterly sales data for twenty-two drugs, (biologics for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new generation asthma drugs and statins) and contemporaneous publication counts of HEOR, clinical and meta-analytic studies via literature search were analyzed. Clinical studies were categorized by journal impact factor. The total analysis period spanned 2003-2013, with drug-specific exposure varying based on its branded status over that timeframe. Covariates included generic availability, safety warnings, and new indications (as a proxy for sales effort). First difference and difference in first difference fixed effects models were used to control for unobserved time invariant and constant-rate time-variant unobserved confounders and estimate the causal effect of an additional study in a given quarter and the increase in sales in the next quarter. RESULTS: In the statin market, the potential casual effect of an HEOR study publication on next quarter’s sales was $1 - $2.2 million. High-impact clinical publication also significantly increased sales in the next quarter (~$7 million). In RA and asthma markets, HEOR studies were not statistically linked to quarterly sales, but high-impact clinical studies were found to have significant effects on asthma drug sales in the next quarter (~$7.5 million). Meta-analyses were only found to have a significant effect on RA drugs sales (~$3.5 million). CONCLUSIONS:  Impact of publications on sales varied. Both HEOR and high-impact clinical studies were associated with an increase in quarterly sales in the statin market, where generic competition is high. These effects were seen to a lesser degree in the statin and RA markets, where generic competition is lower. Market characteristics that vary across the studied classes, such as branded and generic competition, may dictate returns from HEOR and clinical studies.