When the FDA gave Immunomedics, a small clinical-stage biotech, “breakthrough designation” status for a drug aimed at metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, the company was thrilled. Given the grim nature of the diagnosis, the poor prognosis and the lack of available treatments, its new therapy could make a huge impact.
But it also presented many challenges. There was no cushy timeline for a campaign and little data to use to convince oncologists about its effectiveness. It helped that Gilead acquired the company, adding resources to the six-month rollout.
The campaign keyed on the strong defenses of this type of tumor, which oncologists believed to be impenetrable. Getting inside it required something sneaky, such as Trodelvy, the first Trop-2-directed antibody-drug conjugate. At first, its mechanism of action didn’t interest oncologists, who wanted to see data. But early efficacy results were impressive, and the team keyed in on the Trojan horse analogy already widely used in oncology.
To establish Trodelvy as the new standard of care, the campaign presents its story in a snapshot, with an army of Trojan Horses attacking the tumor. Working with production artists, it is brought to life as a master image that can be adjusted or animated, depending on the channel. It then translated the ad into more than 50 multichannel, multi-audience deliverables, each with imagery that reflects the therapy’s efficacy and power.
Within nine months of launch, aided awareness hit 100% among academic oncologists. And the brand is achieving its goal of replacing hospice care discussions with Trodelvy, with more than half of oncologists already considering it the new standard of care.
