As its high-dose Eylea continues to duke it out with Roche’s Vabysmo to be the go-to treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME), Regeneron is hitching its wagon to several constellations’ worth of stars.
The company unveiled this week a new campaign for Eylea HD titled “Stargaze Love,” which features couples revisiting happy moments from their lives together, as recreated in moving constellations on display throughout the night sky. The campaign includes separate one-minute spots for wet AMD and DME, albeit with the same premise, format and script, apart from each ad’s mentions of its designated eye condition.
“If you have diabetic macular edema, you never want to lose sight of the things you love. Some things should stand the test of time,” the narrator says in the latter ad, before launching into the standard laundry list of side effects and contraindications, juxtaposed against a starry montage of joyful scenes from the couple’s past.
As the final constellation shows the couple dancing, the earthbound version of the pair follows suit, fittingly backed by “Dancing in the Moonlight.” The narrator recites, “And there’s still so much to see,” then urges those already using regular-dose Eylea or similar medications to ask their retina specialist about switching to Eylea HD.
The TV ads are just one component of Regeneron’s Eylea HD push, which also features both point-of-care and digital ads, the latter of which includes online videos, banners and Facebook ads.
Meanwhile, the company has also revamped its consumer-facing website for the drug. The Eylea HD site is now decked out in the stargazing theme, complete with stills from the two TV spots. It includes information about the drug itself, the conditions it treats and its clinical trial results. Highlights of those results are in full view on the main page, touting how wet AMD and DME patients were able to see a respective six and eight more letters on an eye chart, on average, after using Eylea HD for a year.
Both the site and ads also spotlight Eylea HD’s less-frequent dosing schedule: It’s administered once a month for the first three months, then every two to four months after that, with most patients able to go at least three months between injections, per Regeneron. Regular Eylea, meanwhile, also starts with injections once a month for the first three months, then typically expands to a bimonthly schedule.
The “Stargaze Love” campaign comes less than a year after Eylea HD was approved in the U.S. late last summer. The FDA’s green light followed its rejection of the drug’s application earlier in 2023, thanks to an issue identified at an Indiana plant run by Regeneron’s contract manufacturer Catalent.
With that issue resolved and approval secured, Regeneron began selling Eylea HD almost immediately, setting it on a collision course with Vabysmo. Indeed, in the months since, Eylea HD and its Roche counterpart have been battling for market share. Just last month, in back-to-back earnings presentations, both companies claimed their high-dose eye disease treatments have become the definitive standard of care in AMD and DME.