Toni Braxton wants lupus patients to “Get Uncomfortable.” The Grammy Award-winning singer, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2008, has teamed up with Aurinia Pharmaceuticals to encourage patients to get their kidneys checked regularly to prevent irreversible damage.
Lupus nephritis, a form of kidney disease, is a common complication of the autoimmune disease. Up to 50% of adults with lupus will have kidney disease, and between 10% and 30% of people who have lupus nephritis develop kidney failure. As such, people with lupus are at risk of complications that can require them to undergo dialysis and all the burdens that entails.
Aurinia, which won approval for the lupus nephritis drug Lupkynis in 2021, kicked off a bold campaign to catch the attention of at-risk patients last year, using the tagline “Peeing in a cup sucks. But kidney failure is way worse.” The company has now enlisted Braxton to help get that message to more patients.
“While peeing in a cup is never comfortable, it is so much better than a kidney transplant or dialysis,” Braxton said in a statement. “During the past 15 years, I’ve learned to prioritize my kidney care and to be a strong advocate for my health—and I’m speaking out now to encourage other women to do the same.”
Braxton, a black woman best known for her '90s hit "Un-Break My Heart," will share her story about life with lupus and embracing uncomfortable moments through forums including her social media channels. Aurinia’s decision to make Braxton the face of the campaign is in line with its focus on helping people to take charge of lupus nephritis, a condition that disproportionately impacts women of color.
The promotional push comes after a disappointing first full year on the market for Lupkynis. Aurinia went into last year forecasting Lupkynis sales of $115 million to $135 million. In the end, net product revenue barely reached triple figures, coming in at $103.5 million. Aurinia is aiming to grow sales to at least $120 million this year.
Talking to investors in February, CEO Peter Greenleaf said Aurinia had contracted a “nationally recognized spokesperson to further raise awareness around lupus nephritis and its consequences.” The goal is to increase the percentage of lupus patients who get screened for proteinuria, the presence of high levels of protein in urine that can indicate an individual has kidney disease, above the 50% that do today.
“If we could get 75%, 80% of those patients just get screened, the top end of the funnel grows dramatically. It's always hard to predict how long that will take. But I think tactics like our urinalysis campaign and even getting more aggressive about how important that is are going to be helpful there,” Greenleaf said.