Almirall is using World Psoriasis Day to push home its messaging about the effect of the skin disease on mental health. The company, which sells psoriasis drugs such as Ilumetri and Wynzora, used the event to highlight its data on the well-being of patients and the miniseries it made to dramatize their lives.
Spain’s Almirall stepped up its communications about the need to consider the impact of psoriasis on the well-being and mental health of patients earlier this year. The centerpiece of the campaign is “Nina,” a three-part narrative series focused on the daily challenges faced by a woman with psoriasis. Weeks after releasing the series, Almirall published (PDF) data on the effect of Ilumetri on wellbeing.
Almirall has built its World Psoriasis Day communication around the data and miniseries. In a statement, the drugmaker reiterated its claim that psoriasis has a similar impact on wellbeing to breast cancer.
The claim is based on a cross-trial comparison. Almirall assessed the effect of Ilumetri on health-related quality of life in a clinical trial. The study linked the treatment to significant improvements in wellbeing but the baseline status of participants underpins the breast cancer claim. Almirall compared the figure to a breast cancer well-being data point from a 2015 paper, which itself took the result from a 2012 study.
Almirall gave life to data on the toll psoriasis takes on patients in its miniseries. The drama shows Nina, with scaly patches of skin on her back, crying in her bathroom and angrily recounting the list of treatments that have failed her in the past. Over the course of the three episodes, Almirall shows how Nina’s life changes after she starts a new treatment.
“It is crucial to continue raising awareness of how psoriasis can affect people in different ways, which is what we have aimed to do with ‘Nina’. The series aims for a message of hope: the disease ultimately can be managed,” Volker Koscielny, chief medical officer at Almirall, said in a statement.
Almirall is communicating the hopeful message as it works to build on the recent growth of its psoriasis franchise. In 2022, the company reported (PDF) 52% year-on-year growth for Ilumetri and identified Wynzora as another growth driver.