Roche’s Genentech is back with the latest installment of its "#MSVisibility: Breaking Barriers" campaign, and, this time, the focus is on the Black multiple sclerosis experience. As with many diseases, the Black population is disproportionately affected, yet, at the same time, faces many barriers to proper diagnosis and treatment.
Following on from last year’s dedicated push to the Hispanic/Latinx community, which featured a Spanish-language video, this year’s focus features a first-of-its-kind landing page on gene.com/MS dedicated to the Black MS experience.
It’s set up as a one-stop destination for educational resources for all areas of dealing with MS, not just medical, but also self-advocacy. There are videos featuring conversations with a diverse group of Black women who either have MS, care for someone or work in the space. Here, they openly discuss the issues they’ve faced in dealing with the disease as part of the Black community.
“We continue to listen and learn from the Black MS community, with the aim of helping to address these burdens," Jennifer Kim, vice president and head of neuroimmunology at Genentech marketing, told Fierce Pharma Marketing.
“We’ve heard loud and clear that they want to feel acknowledged and see better representation and understanding of the challenges Black people living with MS face in accessing health resources. And that’s what we’re aiming to do with this latest installment of #MSVisibility: Breaking Barriers.”
In addition to the usual issues of social determinants of health, healthcare gaps and professional cultural competency, there is also the misperception that MS is a white woman’s disease, which is not surprising considering the attention paid to actors Selma Blair, Emma Caulfield and Christina Applegate, all whom have recently been diagnosed. Yet it’s actually the Black community, especially Black women, who may be most affected.
The project is a multichannel promotional campaign placed to engage the Black community where they are most often consuming information. #MSVisibility will be promoted across social media such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, including Genentech’s own page. There are also paid media activations through advocacy partners.
“We know equitable healthcare cannot be achieved overnight or with any one-dimensional solution,” Kim said. “While we all need to be involved in the solution, we are proud to be making progress by advancing inclusive research, e.g., we’re conducting a phase 4 CHIMES study, the first-ever clinical trial to focus exclusively on Black and Hispanic/Latinx people living with MS in the U.S., and improving access to critical health information through initiatives like #MSVisibility and culturally relevant support for patients.”
Roche has some major clout in the MS space with its MS blockbuster Ocrevus, also one of its best-selling products, bringing in about $6 billion a year for the Swiss major.