Disease Awareness Program Excellence: Structure, Activities & Resources Needed for Effective Pipeline Support

Disease state awareness campaigns have long been used by the industry to disseminate unbranded information about the characteristics of a particular disease, and how it affects patients. With unbranded education among the most trusted sources of information for HCPs and patients, it is vital that pharmaceutical organizations effectively utilize their disease awareness programs to support pipeline portfolio products.

This research provides reliable industry metrics on current disease state awareness program structure, spend, and activities that support pipeline products. In addition, the study reviews the timing of disease state awareness activities.

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged 17 executives from leading pharmaceutical, biotech, and communications companies through a benchmarking survey to explore best practices around the timing, investment, and activities for disease awareness programs.

Key Findings

· Marketing is Primary Contributor for Disease Awareness Programs: Most participants (64%) rely on marketing as the principal funding source for disease awareness. Brand teams were second, with 46% saying they were the primary contributor.
· Patient Advocacy Groups Seen as Valuable Partners: Almost 80% of study participants think it is highly important to create alliances with patient advocacy groups. At the same time, a majority also felt it is highly important to build relationships with key advocates and work on disease awareness websites/campaigns for/with advocacy groups.

· Disease Awareness Activities and Spend are Concentrated on Launch -1 Year & Launch Year : It is during the launch -1 year and launch year periods that a majority of participants conduct the eight key disease awareness activities measured in this study; participants spend 50% of their budget during these two periods.

Table of Contents

· Executive Summary, pgs. 4-8
ü Research Overview, pg. 4

ü Participating Companies, pg. 5

ü Key Findings Overview, pg. 6

ü Key Insights Overview, pg. 7

ü Overview of DA Timing, pgs. 8

I. Participant Demographics, pgs. 9-13

II. Program Effectiveness and Structure, pgs. 14-19

III. Timing of Disease Awareness Activities, pgs. 20-27

IV. Disease Awareness Budget and Spend, pgs. 28-36

V. Involvement of Advocacy and Legal, pgs. 37-45

VI. Social Media, pgs. 46-53

VII. Best Practices and Pitfalls, pgs. 54-56

VIII. Narratives from Interviews, pgs. 57-66

VIIII. Key Findings, pgs. 67-72

X. Appendix, pgs. 73-78

· About Best Practices, LLC, pg. 79

List of Charts & Exhibits

· Disease Awareness (DA) Program Effectiveness
· Disease Awareness Organizational Structure
· Functional Involvement & Leadership in DA
· Presence of Distinct Disease Awareness Group
· Start and End Point of Disease Awareness Efforts
· Timing for Disease Awareness Activities
· Most Heavily Used Disease Awareness Activities
· Factors Influencing the Amount of Resources Dedicated to Disease Awareness Programs on a Product-by-Product Basis
· Percentage of Peak-year Sale Projections Spent on the Disease State Awareness Program for a Typical Product Across its Entire Lifecycle
· Company-Wide Budget for Disease Awareness Initiatives, Activities and Programs
· Functions Providing Funding for Disease Awareness Programs
· Peak Investment Year for Disease Awareness Initiatives
· Percentage of Total Disease Awareness Budget for a New Product Allocated to Different Product Stages
· Peak Year Investment for Disease Awareness
· Additional Disease Awareness Investment Needed for Unmet Need Products
· Importance Level of DA Activities with Advocacy Groups
· Keys to Developing a Good Relationship with Advocacy
· Approaches to Support Disease Awareness Activities with Patient Advocacy Groups
· Timing of Disease Awareness Activities with Patient Advocacy Groups
· Level of Involvement of the Organization's Legal Department in Different Disease Awareness Program Areas
· Legal Review Requirements for Key Markets
· Disease State Awareness (DSA) Social Media Activities
· Patient Access via Social media
· Utilization Ranking of Social Media Activities
· Social Media Spend for Disease Awareness
· Social Media DA Spend and Percentage of DA Budget
· Best Practices for Maintaining An Effective Disease State Awareness Program
· Pitfalls To An Effective Disease Awareness Program