Case Study: Genentech: Activase

Stroke Awareness Featured in USA Today

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability. Even though Activase®, a tissue plasminogen activator from Genentech, is an efficacious stroke treatment, it only reaches 4 percent of stroke victims, primarily because people fail to recognize the signs of stroke and do not seek immediate treatment. Thus, educating people to treat stroke as an emergency has been a key objective for MCS on behalf of Activase.

Creativity: Recognizing the need to bring the message about emergency stroke treatment to as many Americans as possible, MCS developed a news-bureau initiative to bring health reporters compelling stories of survivorship from stroke patients in their regions. These patients are frequently profiled in moving and educational newspaper articles and television stories nationwide.

Service: MCS knows that the right information and the right experts are what make a meaningful article or interview. We provide reporters with the data and research they need, and connect them with influential thought leaders, investigators and local physicians who can discuss treatment and important stroke issues.

Results: Over the past decade, MCS has maintained a steady drumbeat of stroke news, consistently securing articles in local media outlets nationwide. This year, our efforts resulted in a three-quarter-page article, stressing the urgency of seeking emergency treatment for stroke, on the health page of the Life section of USA Today, America's largest national newspaper.

Developed and marketed in the U.S. by Genentech, Inc., Activase also is approved by the FDA for treating acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or heart attacks, and acute massive pulmonary embolism.

Click here to read the full-text article that appeared in USA Today

For more information on Genentech, Inc., please visit the company's web site at www.gene.com.