Genentech’s first campaign for eye drug Vabysmo is literally eye-opening.
In the debut TV commercial, a woman opens an eye-shaped screen, stepping through into different beach, gardening and hiking scenarios. The campaign theme “Open Up Your World” mirrors her narration that the eye medication can improve eyesight and “open up” favorite activities for people with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME).
The direct-to-consumer campaign launched Thursday with national TV, online video, audio, digital and point-of-care doctor’s office materials, said Jennifer Kim, Genentech’s head of ophthalmology. Kim recently moved from neuroimmunology, where she oversaw multiple sclerosis and Ocrevus marketing.
Genentech, part of Roche Group, created the new campaign based on insights from patients, caregivers and advocacy groups in the AMD and DME communities.
“The idea of this campaign was to show how getting treatment with Vabysmo can be a way to open up your world again,” Kim said.
Family and friends are shown to reinforce that certain life experiences and interactions can return. They also represent “an important nod to caregivers” in patients’ lives, she added.
Vabysmo is the first combined VEGF and Ang-2 inhibitor; the injectable was approved in early 2022. Since then it’s notched steady gains with its physician target base in both DME and AMD, according to Spherix Global Insights’ drug launch tracking research. The drug generated CHF 591,000 (about $660,000) in sales last year.
It is “predominantly used in [the] third line currently, but qualitative interviews suggest that as physicians gain more comfort with the agent, it will move further up in the treatment paradigm,” Chrystal Ferguson, Spherix’s senior insights director of ophthalmology, said in an email. She added that among the physicians who are not currently prescribing, “virtually all intend to use [it] at some point.”
Analysts are expecting to see sales numbers in sync with those sentiments when Roche reports its Q1 earnings next week. Jefferies analysts are cautioning that Roche may miss consensus opinion with lower sales of Covid-19 diagnostics but they expect that “key products should be in-line and, notably, we see a big Vabysmo beat.”
Source: EndPoints News- https://endpts.com/genentech-debuts-first-diabetes-and-age-related-eye-disease-drug-campaign/
