Upfront

Pharma Collaborators Launch Initiative to Improve Patients’ Adherence to Humira

AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., and EA Pharma Co. have teamed up to launch the Humira Support Tool Ordering Service for Patients, an initiative intended to improve patients’ adherence to Humira therapy in Japan.

The support tool is a free-of-charge service that assists patients on Humira therapy by directly delivering support tools to their home or other requested location. This service is intended to allow patients to shorten the time required to receive support tools and reduce the burden of carrying them. Patients can use this service by applying on the website or using a designated form to request support tools such as containers for disposal of used syringes, bags for disposal of used pens, disease-specific health management notebooks, and disease-specific medication guides for patients. The requested support tools are delivered to their home or other desired location free of charge.

Formerly, patients received the support tools they needed during a clinic visit. When the support tools they needed were not available at the clinic, it took time to deliver the support tools to patients, potentially resulting in unavailability of the tools when needed. In addition, some large-sized tools, such as containers for disposal of used syringes, put a burden on patients who had to carry them home.

Through providing Humira Support Tool Ordering Service for Patients, AbbVie, Eisai, and EA Pharma are committed to further enhancing patient support programs and contributing to improved treatment adherence.

Awareness Campaign to Stop Child Trafficking

Intouch Group, Lumen Touch, and Kansas City-area Rotary Clubs are partnering to spread awareness on a difficult but important public health issue: child trafficking.
Together, the organizations have launched a contest, “Students Stopping Traffic," which aims to inspire Kansas City-area high school students to create a compelling awareness campaign or idea to combat the trafficking and targeting of peers in their own communities. Ideas could include an advertising campaign, a live event, a social media campaign, or something more. In 2019, 11,500 human trafficking cases were reported in the United States; around two-thirds of those reports were for sex trafficking. As with most public health issues, awareness is key to the prevention of human trafficking.

“I’ve been asked, ‘Is trafficking really a public health issue?’ It absolutely is," says Intouch Group Chief Creative Officer Susan Perlbachs. “And it’s not just me saying so. The Administration for Children and Families, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, considers it a public health concern affecting entire communities."

Three cash prizes will be awarded to the first-, second-, and third-place winners — each given to the students’ schools — and students who submit the first-place selection will then work with Intouch Group, a healthcare advertising agency, to bring their idea to life.

See stories of how teens were manipulated into trafficking on TikTok: https://bit.ly/StudentsStoppingTrafficTikTok.

Novartis Launches “Meet the PROS"

Novartis has launched “Meet the PROS," an initiative to raise awareness and offer new educational resources for PIK3CA-Related Overgrowth Spectrum (PROS), a group of rare conditions caused by mutations in the PIK3CA gene. PROS conditions are diverse and are typically characterized by atypical, visible growths and anomalies in the blood vessels and lymphatic system. People living with PROS often experience a multitude of physical, emotional, and psychosocial challenges, such as chronic pain and mobility issues, diagnosis uncertainty, and difficulty finding clothes or shoes that fit.

“PROS conditions can have potentially debilitating physical impacts and are often associated with a range of emotional and social challenges for patients and their families. Through the Meet the PROS initiative, we aim to answer the community’s call for more awareness and educational resources," says Reshema Kemps-Polanco, head of Novartis Oncology, US. “We’re grateful for the collaboration and insights from our Meet the PROS advisors. Their contributions are invaluable as we continue our efforts to reimagine medicine for people living with rare diseases."

Novartis collaborated with advocates, caregivers, and patients to create an educational initiative to help young people with PROS learn and talk about their condition. The initiative includes an educational comic book, conversation guides, fact sheets, and other resources, available at understandingpros.com/talking-about-pros/.

Mobile Health Market Size to reach $230 Billion by 2027

Mobile health provides health service and information through mobile communication devices to address health priorities and concerns. The advanced mobile and wireless technologies have transformed the face of healthcare services across the globe and are rendering the growth of the mHealth market.

A report offered by Allied Market Research on the global mobile health market highlights that the market is expected to reach $230 billion by 2027, from $46 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 22.3% from 2020 to 2027. The report offers the current market size and forecasts along with Porter’s Five Forces analysis to help market players, stakeholders, startups, and investors to determine the current scenario and take further steps for the future. Drivers and opportunities for highest revenue generating and fastest growing segments would help in tapping into a specific segment to achieve growth. Moreover, regional analysis would assist in expansion strategies for the market players and startups.

Moreover, the continued growth in coverage of mobile cellular networks, rapid advances in mobile technologies and applications, increasing lifestyle diseases, and growing awareness among patient population in emerging economies are some of the key factors fostering the growth of the mHealth market. By contrast, the lower accuracy of the devices, technology’s infancy in middle- and lower-income economies, weak reimbursement coverage, uncertainty in government regulations in certain regions, and low adoption among ageing populations is hampering the market growth to a certain extent.

A major chunk of the mHealth devices market — 71% — is collectively commanded by BP monitors, blood glucose monitors, and cardiac monitors. The largest share of these monitors can be attributed to increased affordability of mobile compatible devices, integration of innovative technologies in monitoring devices, and the increasing lifestyle disease such as diabetes, stroke, COPD, and ischemic heart, to name a few. Within mHealth services, diagnostic, monitoring, and treatment services collectively hold about 74% of the market. The rapid growth of the mHealth services market is attributed to rising government initiatives and increasing mHealth awareness programs in underdeveloped regions, etc.

In Memoriam

A 2018 PharmaVOICE 100 honoree and avid mentor for women in the life-sciences industry has died. Gisela M. Schwab, M.D., president, product development and medical affairs and chief medical officer at Exelixis, passed away in early September.
In her PharmaVOICE 100 profile she stated she wanted her legacy to be twofold: to make a meaningful difference in drug development that results in improved outcomes for cancer patients and to support the career development of her team members. Dr. Schwab accomplished both. Exelixis CEO Dr. Michael Morrissey says she was “a brilliant oncologist turned clinical development professional, a remarkable leader, mentor, and friend."

Dr. Schwab was one of PharmaVOICE’s first Women of the Week podcast guests and was featured in an article, “Women of Influence" in 2020.

“It’s not a stretch to say that over the course of a career across leading academic research institutions and biopharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and Europe, Gisela’s work helped millions of patients with cancer," Dr. Morrissey says.
Dr. Schwab joined Exelixis in 2006 and served as chief medical officer for the past 15 years. (PV)

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PharmaVOICE 100 News

Wendy Lund Joins Organon
Wendy Lund, 2020 PharmaVOICE 100, joined Organon in June as chief commercial officer as the company celebrated its launch as a global women’s health company with employees and women from around the world. Organon is committed to women’s everyday health needs, with a focus on reproductive health, and health issues that are unique to women, as well as conditions that disproportionately affect women. Previously, Ms. Lund had been CEO of GCI Health for 11 years.

Dr. MaryAnne Rizk Joins Medable
Medable Inc. has brought on 2021 PharmaVOICE 100 Dr. MaryAnne Rizk as chief strategy officer. Dr. Rizk is a veteran leader with more than 20 years of experience managing partnerships and ecosystems to accelerate development across technology (Oracle, Medidata), pharmaceutical (Merck), and clinical research organizations (IQVIA).

At Medable, Dr. Rizk is charged with expanding the company’s global strategic partnerships and innovation ecosystem together with CROs, medical device companies, software, and data partners. The partner initiatives will help Medable advance its vision of human-centered research, enabling remote access to clinical trials across geographies to ensure a diverse representation of people from varied economic and racial backgrounds.

Dr. Rizk is an active member of Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, Prix Galien Foundation Digital Advisory Board, and SCRS Innovation Council.

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Woman of the Week Podcast Series

September

Ryan Pack, Global Head, Diversity in Clinical Trials, Science 37
Jacylyn Dougherty, Chief Information and Technology Officer, Elligo Health Research
Wendy Lund, Chief Communications Officer, Organon
Stephanie Brown, Senior VP and Business Unit Head, Rare Disease – North America, Ipsen
Elizabeth Hewitt, DPM, Orthopedic Surgeon, Foot and Ankle, Physicians of Ohio