Johnson & Johnson doesn’t even have a potential FDA approval on the horizon for its myasthenia gravis (MG) hopeful nipocalimab. But the Big Pharma, aware of its rivals pulling away, is already zeroing in on an awareness push for the disease.
There’s a lot to play for: Janssen, the drug development arm of Johnson & Johnson, paid $6.5 billion for Momenta Pharmaceuticals in 2021 to get its hands on its anti-FcRn antagonist nipocalimab, which started a phase 3 trial last summer in the rare disease.
In the U.S. alone, MG affects around 36,000 to 60,000 people. It attacks the muscles associated with breathing and eye movements—as well as other muscle movements—causing drooping eyelids, double vision, muscle weakness and extreme fatigue along with difficulty speaking, breathing or swallowing.
Although the disease is relatively rare, there are already two big drugs on the market for the condition: AstraZeneca’s blockbuster Soliris, which makes more than $4 billion a year (but also is approved in other diseases), and new contender Vyvgart from argenx, which is already doing well with neurologists in the first few months of its launch, according to a recent report from Spherix.
J&J is much further back, still trying to generate data for an FDA approval. The company therefore cannot do any direct branded campaigns, but it is still pushing the awareness ticket, setting up a new national campaign called "iMaGineMyMG." The push aims to increase awareness of “and provide support to people living with the condition,” it said in a statement.
As part of the campaign, MG patients can click through to iMaGineMyMG.com, a newly redesigned site set up “to help guide individuals throughout their journey with the rare disease,” the company said.
“Living with MG can be challenging, and at times, isolating,” said Meridith O'Connor, a writer, speaker, and patient advocacy consultant living with MG, said in a release.
“I was only 13 years old when I received my MG diagnosis and did not know anyone else living with the condition. On occasion, I felt lonely and found it difficult to relate to my peers," O'Connor said. "Today, those like me living with this rare disease now have access to resources like iMaGineMyMG.com, a place to connect, share our stories, and feel understood by others on the same journey.”
Visitors to the site can also virtually connect with the MG community by sharing their own stories and experiences through polls, testimonials and other community activities. This will no doubt be helpful for J&J to glean information about patients' wants and needs for future marketing campaigns.
J&J said to “stay tuned for more community engagement in the coming months” with the launch of the refreshed iMaGineMyMG Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
Argenx is already running a DTC campaign with a new TV ad titled simply “New Treatment Option” that focuses heavily on a new FDA-approved treatment option but does not call out Vyvgart by name.
The biopharma is also tapping patients’ voices, tweeting out a video of an MG sufferer talking about the difficulties of living with the disease.
J&J may also soon have another rival in UCB’s anti-FcRn antagonist rozanolixizumab, which has data for its MG asset out in the next few months as a subcutaneous injection.