FACT SHEET: Respiratory
Competition to reach physicians and patients in the respiratory market is among the most intense in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly for asthma and allergy therapies. From coordinating pre-approval media relations activities to conducting national media campaigns for mature products, to raising the profile of a patient advocacy group and providing issues management support, MCS has invaluable experience communicating to both professional and consumer audiences.
Focus on Asthma and Allergy
Our asthma and allergy experience spans virtually every therapeutic class within the category. Additionally, MCS served as agency-of-record for the respiratory products portfolio of Allen & Hanburys, a division of GlaxoSmithKline, and the Allen & Hanburys Respiratory Institute. MCS also has provided its expertise in assisting the Allergy and Asthma Network (AAN), formerly Mothers of Asthmatics, to launch a bold new image with an issues-based public awareness campaign, and developing the Genentech Managed Care Children's Health Initiative, an educational endeavor focused on key areas of children's health, including asthma and allergy. MCS has provided public relations support in a number of areas, including:
- Strategic counsel/issues management
- Media relations
- Physician and consumer education campaigns
- Thought leader panel development
- Medical meeting and data publication support
Thought Leader Panels
Coalition building with physician opinion leaders is of critical importance in all phases of a respiratory product's development and marketing. To that end, MCS has identified and organized thought leader panels for a number of our clients, which have resulted in the creation of a validated quality-of-life measurement tool for allergists and GPs/FPs and publication of a product review article in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Pre-approval Communications
MCS has supported the development of several products from early Phase II development through FDA approval by providing strategic counsel, addressing pre-approval positioning issues, promoting study results at national and international meetings and announcing publication of data. To support Alvesco®, sanofi-aventis Group's investigational asthma medication, MCS worked with thought leaders to publicize safety data and has built anticipation of the treatment through ongoing media relations. Since 2005, we've reached an audience of 57.9 million with coverage including Reuters Health, Dow Jones, Pharmaceutical Representative, The Medical Post and Infectious Diseases in Children.
Educating Target Audiences
To educate consumers and physicians while successfully overcoming challenges related to the perception of a disease or a treatment, MCS has formed important relationships with many consumer and professional leaders and third-party organizations. Among our many initiatives with these groups was arranging for Ms. Nancy Sanders of Asthma Allergy Network to address an FDA Advisory Committee about the importance of beta2 agonists in the treatment of asthma. We also have developed a number of comprehensive science files aimed at educating physicians, reporters and investors that were detailed to media at major medical meetings, including the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), AAAAI, ALA/ATS and European Respiratory Society.
