When post-marketing studies linked ADHD drugs to an increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, drug makers held their breath. They had seen what happened to anti-depressants when FDA mandated black box warning labels, and now the agency was requiring similar warnings for some ADHD drug brands.

Shire Pharmaceuticals has staked a significant part of its future on the ADHD market. Its main contender, Adderall XR, has 26 percent of the ADHD market in the United States. The company has three additional ADHD compounds in its pipeline.

With Adderall XR going off patent in April 2009, Shire prepared to launch its latest entrant into the ADHD category: the Daytrana patch. Analysts had high hopes for the product, but Shire--working with advertising agency Unit 7 and public relations agency Porter Novelli--still needed to convince parents of its utility.

To coincide with the back-to-school season, Unit 7 built an unbranded TV spot directing parents to Shire Web site adhdprogress.com, where they could sign up to receive more information from the company in the mail. The spots empathized with parents' anger at the disease, and connected them to a support network.

In the same vein, Shire hosted the eighth annual ADHD Experts on Call program on ADHD awareness day in September. A panel of 25 physicians, school nurses, teachers, and other experts and advocates answered questions through a toll-free hotline and online forum. The interactive component provided "depth and valuable analysis" on issues that parents were concerned about, said Ann Hutchinson, Shire's marketing director for Daytrana.

Ty Pennington, the celebrity designer on ABC's 

 and an ADHD patient, also talked about his experiences with the disorder in media interviews and on a live webcast. A Hispanic physician answered questions for Spanish-speaking parents.

Ad agency Integrated Communications Corp. also worked on professional outreach to educate physicians on how the patch was different from other stimulant drugs in the methylphenidate class. In particular, parents can adust Daytrana's "wear-time" to avoid late-day side effects or accommodate a child's schedule, Hutchinson noted.

Within three months of its launch, Daytrana captured 1.7 percent of the ADHD market--in line with Shire's goals. Unaided awareness among physicians grew from four percent to 15 percent, and aided awareness increased from 15 percent to 63 percent, according to Porter Novelli.

The Experts on Call program Web site received 20,000 viewings and hosted 1,300 live one-on-one chats. The hotline received 1,500 calls, including 612 in Spanish.

"The public embraced the news about Daytrana," Hutchinson said. "The see the challenges [the disorder] and they see the benefits of ADHD therapy. We have not seen significant pullback from either physicians or parents."

Articles

Shire markets ADHD patch with unbranded campaign.

Launching Daytrana in a Skeptical Environment

GlaxoSmithKline is consolidating an estimated $100-million worth of professional advertising for several of its most profitable prescription drug brands under the Interpublic Group holding company.

The business, which reportedly includes such well-known brands as Advair and Imitrex, was won out from under incumbent WPP agencies Grey Healthcare and Thomas Ferguson Associates, which pitched for the business as separate entities. IPG pitched for the account as a holding company.

The switchover should be completed by the end of the year. Once that happens, FCB Healthcare, Regan Campbell Ward McCann, and Torre Lazur McCann will be the primary agencies working on the accounts. They could also be joined by a number of other IPG agencies in other marketing disciplines. As of yet, though, DTC advertising and public relations efforts are not included in the consolidation.

Although IPG spokesperson Tom Cunningham would not confirm the $100-million figure, analyst reports are convincing in their predictions: Three of the reportedly included brands--Avandia, Advair, and Imitrex--are blockbuster earners for GSK. Advair in particular had above-average growth of 22 percent between 2004 and 2005, making it the fifth most profitable drug in the industry for that period. The asthma drug had worldwide sales of $4.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2006. Other GSK drugs rumored to now be under IPG?s wing include Avandamet (for diabetes), Fluarix and Relenza (for flu), and Trexima (for migraine).

Calls to GlaxoSmithKline were not immediately returned.

In a pitch of holding company vs. separate agencies, IPG nabs top prescription brands from WPP.

Glaxo Consolidates Professional Ad Business

Merck appears to be banking on the public's fear of the "C" word in promoting its new HPV vaccine. Initial branded advertisements for the vaccine, called Gardasil, use messaging that focuses on cancer prevention rather than the less comfortable topic of sexually transmitted diseases.

The ads, which have started popping up in women's magazines and during women's prime time television programs, feature teen and preteen girls jumping rope, shooting hoops, and playing the drums--while pledging to become "one less" cervical cancer statistic. The spots, created by ad agency DDB New York, also feature images of mothers and daughters, and close with a take-action appeal: "get vaccinated."

"It's a powerful message," said Megan Svensen, executive vice president and director of the healthcare practice at Marina Maher Communications, a public relations agency that specializes in marketing to women. "It reinforces a positive action as well as a positive benefit."

For Evelyn Sprigg, senior vice president in the healthcare practice at Lippe Taylor, Merck's campaign parallels the PR agency's own outreach effort to educate women about Digene's HPV test. Focusing on cervical cancer--rather than HPV alone--is "the smart and appropriate thing to do."

"The real impact is on cervical cancer," she said. "That's the area where consumers are emotionally connected. Women don't think they're at risk for cervical cancer."

The campaign is the follow-up to Merck's disease education outreach, which includes the spots "Tell Someone" and "Make the Connection." The unbranded effort tries to build awareness around the idea that the human papillomavirus can sometimes cause cervical cancer, and features newly enlightened young women promising to tell their friends and family about the link.

Merck will continue to sponsor disease awareness programs by providing funds to local and national organizations--particularly those that reach out to underserved communities--that are bookmarked for HPV education.

Compared with the disease awareness effort, the new advertising campaign skews slightly younger. The vaccine is approved for girls and women ages 9 to 26, and the faces featured in the spots span that age group.

But Sprigg noted that it's important for Merck to have different messages for each audience--young girls and their mothers, teenagers, women in their 20s, and older women who want more information about what to do next.

More than 95 insurance plans--covering 94 percent of insured individuals--have decided to reimburse Gardasil, according to Merck. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also added the vaccine to its Vaccines for Children Contract, making it available to Medicaid-eligible, uninsured, under-insured, or Native American children up to the age of 18.

Analysts are optimistic about the vaccine's market potential. "It's very clear that patients are going to be interested in it," said John Lebbos, MD, therapeutic area director of infectious diseases at market research firm Decision Resources. "From what I've seen, it's going to be a blockbuster."

Education about the vaccine is going to be a critical piece--due both to a lack of understanding about HPV as well as early controversy that vaccination might lead to teen promiscuity.

"There's still a tremendous amount of awareness about HPV they'll need to reinforce," said Svensen, who praised the way the ads portrayed vaccination as a family decision. "It takes years of constant reinforcement before people know they need to do something about this."

Merck branded spots for HPV vaccine use strategic messaging.

Pharmaceutical Executive-11-29-2006

Launching Daytrana in a Skeptical Environment

Glaxo Consolidates Professional Ad Business

Gardasil Campaign Taps Public Fear of Cancer