A new promo for Roche’s blockbuster hemophilia A drug Hemlibra focuses less on those with the genetic bleeding disorder and more on those who work around the clock to take care of them.
Roche’s Genentech, fittingly, debuted the short film ahead of Mother’s Day this past weekend. It tells the story of the first decade of a young hemophilia A patient’s life—all captured through the eyes of his mother.
The four-minute film starts on a traditional, steady note, with a series of sun-dappled scenes documenting the woman’s pregnancy and joyful first moments with her newborn. After a shot of the boy’s parents apparently receiving his diagnosis in a doctor’s office, however, the screen fades almost to black and the film takes a dizzying, kaleidoscope-like turn.
The ensuing montage is a rotating whirlwind of the ups and downs of the boy’s childhood, including repeated glimpses of the family attending doctor’s appointments and the mother administering regular injections to her son, interspersed with more upbeat shots of the boy running and playing with friends. As he grows up and learns to help manage his own hemophilia A, the upbeat shots begin to outweigh those depicting moments of worry and frustration—though his mother continues to flash back through all the highs and lows of his life so far.
As the swirling montage slows to an end, words onscreen note, “Even when your world spins, he’ll always be the center,” followed by a call for viewers to “join a community of mothers like you” at the Hemlibra website.
The film ends by giving credit to five real-life moms of children with hemophilia A whose stories inspired the ad, complete with notes about how long their kids have been on Hemlibra.
Overall, Genentech spent more than 200 hours interviewing more than 50 moms about their experiences as hemophilia A caregivers, a company spokesperson told Fierce Pharma Marketing. To bring their stories to life, Genentech tapped director Joel Kefali, who’s previously helmed ads for companies like Apple and music videos for Lorde, Katy Perry and more.
The film is slated to be featured at the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation annual conference later this summer.
“This film is Genentech’s way of directly shining a light on the crucial role of hemophilia A caregivers, acknowledging and celebrating their powerful contributions. We are constantly listening to communities and caregiver networks we work with to understand how we can further strengthen our partnership with them through support programs and investment in research and development,” Michael Dunn, head of U.S. rare disease at Genentech, said in a statement to Fierce.
Hemlibra was first approved by the FDA in late 2017 for adults and children with hemophilia A with factor VIII inhibitors. A follow-up approval a year later that expanded the drug’s reach to patients without FVIII inhibitors—and, therefore the entire U.S. hemophilia A population—and put it on a path to blockbuster success.
Indeed, last year, Hemlibra raked in 4.5 billion Swiss francs ($5.36 billion), representing a year-over-year increase of 12%, per Roche’s full-year financial report (PDF).
Editor's note: This story was updated May 15 with a statement from Genentech.