Shire Pharmaceuticals is hitting “the road” as part of a new unbranded education campaign for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), complete with live events in 10 cities.

Shire developed the “On the Road Again” campaign as a response to results of its series of company-sponsored surveys completed in 2007 illustrating the challenges that exist for UC patients including communication gaps with physicians, medication compliance and other life disruptions. Approximately 700,000 people in the US are afflicted with UC. 

“The ‘On the Road Again’ program is intended to empower people with UC across the country and provide them with the knowledge and tools necessary to better manage their disease and regain control of their lives,” explained Mike Yasick, SVP and gastrointestinal global business unit leader at Shire.

The campaign will feature live education event tour stops this spring in Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Long Island, NY. Each event will include a dietician, a gastroenterologist, a social worker or health psychologist, and an online health information professional. These experts will discuss UC and the role of diet, treatment options and building an online UC community, Shire said.

Shire currently markets UC treatments Lialda (mesalamine) and Pentasa (mesalamine).

In addition to this spring’s live event tour, Shire has also launched http://www.roadtouclearning.com/, an online tour companion that features the “On the Road Again” event schedule, speaker bios, and registration and condition information.