Incyte has activated star power for its latest Opzelura ad campaign, enlisting the actor and singer Mandy Moore to help share the stories of eczema patients.
The campaign, Moments of Clarity, is an educational initiative focused on sharing details of the lives of people with atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema, and how they found relief from their symptoms. Moore, who has eczema but doesn’t use Incyte’s Opzelura, discussed her motivation for participating in the campaign in a video she shared with her 5.5 million followers on Instagram.
“I'm well aware of the impact it can have on your daily life. Sometimes I feel particularly self-conscious about it, especially when I'm at work. Luckily, my day job allows for it to get somewhat covered up but … I don't think it ever really feels good to show up for work when you're not feeling your best. So I would encourage anyone with eczema to speak up and try to seek relief from their symptoms,” Moore said.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a four-minute video in which Moore talks to Anna, a teenager who experienced symptom relief within days, for itching, and weeks, for redness, after starting on Opzelura. In the video, Moore, sitting on a basketball court, asks Anna about her life and bonds over a shared interest in cheerleading, before moving the conversation on to how eczema affects her activities.
Anna describes how atopic dermatitis affected her enjoyment of cheerleading and basketball, discussing how the eczema on her hands caused discomfort when grabbing pom poms and dribbling the ball. The pain, which affected Anna’s ability to write, led her to want to stay home from school.
Incyte’s Opzelura website features other videos and patient stories alongside the main content. In one video, Anna’s mom describes her experience; in another, a middle-aged electrician named Eric explains how the development of eczema symptoms in his 50s affected his life. The website features text quotes from four other people and a box encouraging other patients to share their “Opzelura moment.”
A rising number of patients are experiencing life on the drug. Net revenues hit $80 million in the second quarter, increasing 384% compared to a tricky three-month period last year, and Incyte has clinical data that could enable it to lower the minimum age for use from 12 years to 2 years. The arrival of rival drugs from Dermavant and Arcutis Biotherapeutics could put Incyte under pressure, though.