Genentech is launching its “Life Doesn’t Wait” campaign to commemorate World Hemophilia Day, highlighting patient stories ahead of expected increased competition in the hemophilia A market.
The campaign marks a change in the way the Roche division presents Hemlibra, its blockbuster drug for hemophilia A, to patients. Currently, visitors to the product website are shown an image of Ian, a child who has been taking a factor VIII mimetic since 2020, jumping to catch an American football as his mother and Hemlibra ambassador Veronica looks on. The text “Life Can’t Wait” appears above the hero image on the website.
Genentech’s previous Hemlibra website focused on the clinical evidence supporting the drug. The first thing visitors saw was the words “Proven and Trusted by the Hemophilia A Community for 8 Years” above a close-up of a smiling woman holding a child.
Changing the CTA button on your hero image emphasizes the change in focus. Previously, this button prompted visitors to click to “see the data” and linked to a page with clinical trial results. As part of the new campaign, Genentech changed the text to “See more stories.” Clicking the button takes visitors to a page featuring videos about life in Hemlibra and profiles of people, including Veronica.
This video and profile predates the “Life Doesn’t Wait” campaign, but was previously only accessible by clicking on the Patient Stories tab on the Hemlibra website. The updated website design puts patient stories, rather than clinical data, at the forefront.
Genentech’s campaign comes weeks after marketing communications firm VML Health urged drug companies to present therapeutic value in terms of well-being. Discussing cancer, VML Health said pharmaceutical communications teams should go beyond survival data by presenting stories and evidence that capture patient lives. Genentech’s call-to-action button changes are in line with advice from VML Health.
The new campaign supports pharmaceuticals, which generated (PDF) 4.8 billion Swiss francs ($6.1 billion) and grew 11% last year. Last year, Novo Nordisk applied to the FDA for approval of a competing bispecific drug, starting the countdown to the possibility of a direct Hemlibra competitor. Roche is developing its own successor, with a Phase 3 trial pitting Hemlibra against next-generation candidate NXT007 scheduled to begin this month.
