Positioning a biologic for treating rheumatoid arthritis
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Second-line biologic. First-class experience.
Rheumatoid arthritis manifests most notably in the hands. Irreversible erosion of bone and joint cartilage happens quickly, leading to loss of strength and functional ability. Showing a patient’s hands confidently holding a precious object captured the solution offered by Kineret, a novel IL-1 biologic treatment competing
with the TNF-alpha blockers, Enbrel and Remicade.
Patient acquisition and retention efforts were ongoing and
I generated a wide variety of materials, including:
Working on this launch was an invaluable experience for a copywriter new to the US market. Over a three year period I generated an extensive list of collateral items, detail aids, mailings, patient support material, nurse resource binders, instructional blueprints for sales representatives, and a sophisticated sampling program with module for securing insurance for eligible patients. Today, the high cost of new drugs make these reimbursement mechanisms pretty standard, but they were revolutionary in 2001.
An intensive patient retention program was key to the strategy
• The “Hands On” patient support program
• Regular 8-page tabloid newsletters
• Mailings with free gift response incentives
• Instructional booklets
• Nurse call scripts
• DTC journal ads
• Activity guides
If at first you don't succeed — reposition appropriately
Kineret worked extremely well, but in a much smaller percentage of patients than those achieving response with TNF-alphas. Physicians tried it, and if it didn't work in their trial patient they lost confidence in its efficacy. Amgen was forced to reposition the brand as a second-line alternative for patients who had not responded well to first-line drugs. Again, a very interesting and informative experience that added to my conceptual and strategic abilities.
