ViiV Healthcare is working with TV personality and HIV and LGBTQ advocate Michelle Visage to spread awareness about new long-acting drugs that can significantly reduce the risk of HIV exposure.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs have been around since 2012, when the FDA approved Gilead’s Truvada, a combination therapy of two antiretroviral drugs: emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.
Since then, long-acting injectables that only need to be taken every few months or twice a year have been approved, making treatment easier.
ViiV, majority-owned by GSK, is one of the big players in the space and sells the bimonthly PrEP drug Apretune.
Although the new campaign does not directly mention the drug, the campaign focuses on “going beyond dosing schedules to help people make informed decisions about HIV prevention with long-acting injectables (LAIs),” ViiV said in a June 1 statement.
The company said that although innovation in the PrEP space is accelerating, “factors such as stigma and a lack of open dialogue between patients and healthcare providers can impede honest conversations about prevention options.”
The campaign aims to “learn more about the differences between LAI PrEP options and encourage individuals to have deeper conversations with their doctors to get ‘smart PrEP.'”
The push also features a new website with a bright, fresh look aimed at further reinforcing the message: “To be clear, all injectable PrEP options are not created equal.” This site aims to allow users to ask questions about PrEP drugs and how to use them.
“HIV prevention is not one-size-fits-all, and neither are the injectable PrEP options. Everyone’s daily life, needs, and comfort level are different,” Visage said in the release.
“True empowerment when it comes to sexual health and well-being includes having ‘PrEP wisdom’ and knowing the options available to you, including the differences between long-acting injectable PrEP over dosing schedules, so you can work with your doctor to decide what’s best for you,” she added.
Visage is best known as a standing judge on the popular reality competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
The campaign comes as Apretune battles a new competitor in the PrEP market, Gilead’s Yeztugo, which requires only two classes per year.
Gilead Chief Commercial Officer Joanna Mercier said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on May 8 that the long-acting injectable had sales of $166 million in the first quarter, an “unprecedented launch trajectory” that has so far “exceeded our expectations.”
Gilead also launched a new direct-to-consumer campaign for Eztugo in February, which continues to drive brand awareness and recognition, Mercier said on the conference call.
