A Key Part of the Solution to Lower Health Care Costs
A case study of SKDK’s partnership with Pfizer
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Biosimilars are lower-cost versions of reference biologic therapies, a next generation of treatment options for patients with serious diseases like cancer, diabetes, and arthritis. Since the passage of the BPCIA in 2010, which provided a clear pathway for review and FDA approval of biosimilars, these safe, effective and lower-cost alternatives have struggled to gain a significant foothold in the US market—keeping billions in unrealized savings from patients and taxpayers.
Pfizer recognized a need for an education and advocacy campaign to raise awareness of the cost-saving benefits of biosimilars and approached SKDK for assistance. Together we saw the urgency in encouraging policy and regulatory solutions to end anti-competitive behaviors and misaligned incentives that inhibit patient access to these therapies through a targeted campaign that promoted the benefits of biosimilars.
Through an integrated campaign for Pfizer, SKDK has leveraged earned and Pfizer-owned channels as well as investing in some paid media to create an echo chamber of support to educate stakeholders and influencers and dispel misinformation about biosimilars. To position biosimilars as the next generation of generic drugs, we created a new landing page on Pfizer.com to highlight the core benefits of biosimilars, specifically lower costs and more patient choice.
SKDK also created a highly targeted paid campaign, including programmatic display, Facebook, geotargeting and native advertising to drive targeted audiences to the landing page. A robust strategic communications strategy was implemented to educate reporters, draft and place op-eds from leading health experts, and amplify white papers that reinforced the safety, efficacy, and cost-savings of these next generation of lower cost drugs.
SKDK co-created native content with media properties to explore some of the “fail-first” policies and exclusionary contracts that prevent the development of a biosimilars market in the U.S. and managed sponsored media events to bring experts and policymakers together. To date the Administration and the FDA have promoted the benefits of biosimilars and seven bipartisan bills have been introduced in Congress to encourage biosimilars use to lower drug costs.