Several Big Pharmas took home trophies at the annual Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards on Wednesday night.
The annual awards gala, which was once again held in Philadelphia amid Fierce’s annual Digital Pharma East conference, honors the most creative and innovative marketing and advertising work across pharma and life sciences.
This year’s ceremony spanned 15 awards, including a new honor for the agency of the year. The inaugural title went to Minds + Assembly, a New York City-based agency that has worked on campaigns for Galderma’s Twyneo and Epsolay, Zealand Pharma’s Zegalogue, Otsuka’s Abilify MyCite system, argenx’s Vyvgart and more.
Pfizer was among the major pharma players to earn a trophy of its own: the DTC Audio for Pharma and Life Sciences award, for the company’s “Science Will Win” podcast. “Science Will Win” began as a TV ad campaign in 2020, when Pfizer sought to assure the public that scientists developing vaccines and antiviral treatments would be able to “beat” the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign branched into podcasting a year later, with each of its 11 episodes so far exploring breakthrough medical innovations and treatments being developed to solve some of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges.
GSK had a hand in two winning efforts. The U.K. pharma took home the win in the Pharma TV category alongside Razorfish Health for “Cut Short,” the respiratory syncytial virus awareness ad the duo launched last year, shortly after GSK’s Arexvy became the first RSV vaccine approved by the FDA. And Arexvy was the focus of another winner: CMI Media Group clinched the Impiricus HCP Impact award, which was judged by a group of physicians, for its “pioneering audio outreach” to healthcare providers around GSK’s vaccine.
Sanofi’s North American consumer healthcare unit also left the gala triumphant. It won the Innovation Challenge award for Allegra Airways, a digital navigation tool launched earlier this year to support the Allegra allergy relief brand. When planning a walk or bike ride, consumers can use Allegra Airways—which went live in March with the celebrity endorsement of NSYNC’s Lance Bass—to calculate a route with the lowest allergen and pollution levels to help avoid worsening allergy symptoms.
Meanwhile, another pair of trophies had Sanofi ties, too: Ruder Finn’s win in the Social Media for Consumer category was for its work launching Sanofi’s “The 1 Pledge” movement, while Inizio Evoke’s Print for Consumer award win came for “Pixi & Alex’s Adventure,” linked to Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent.
Elsewhere, Roche’s Genentech and Syneos Health Communications snagged the Public Relations Campaign honor for “Most Likely Not To…,” a comedic Broadway-style musical that took aim at how ableism impacts the everyday lives of people with spinal muscular atrophy. The “edgy” show was livestreamed on Feb. 29 of this year, the annual Rare Disease Day.
As for the year’s best new brand launch, that title went to Tarsus Pharmaceuticals and creative agency Moon Rabbit for a branded campaign promoting Tarsus’ Xdemvy, an eye drop that won FDA approval in mid-2023 to treat Demodex blepharitis. In the months since that sign-off, Tarsus has launched “Might Over Mites,” a branded campaign targeting healthcare providers—and the subject of this award—as well as a consumer-focused push dubbed “Mite Party.”
Find the full list of Fierce Pharma Marketing Award winners below.
Agency of the Year
Minds + Assembly
Digital Campaign – Non-Social Media
Real Chemistry for “American Cancer Society – The Hopefall: A One-of-A-Kind Visualization of a Life-Changing Sound”
DTC Audio for Pharma and Life Sciences
Pfizer for “Science Will Win” podcast
Impiricus HCP Impact Award
CMI Media Group for “GSK’s AREXVY and CMI Media Group – Pioneering Audio Outreach to HCPs”
Innovation Challenge
Sanofi Consumer Healthcare North America for “Allegra Airways”
Medical Conference or Event Marketing
SHE Media for “SHE Media Co-Lab @ SXSW: Whole Life Health”
Multicultural Campaign
Klick Health for “Aurinia Get Uncomfortable”
New Brand Launch
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Moon Rabbit for “XDEMVY: Might Over Mites”
Online Video or Film
DNA Communications for “It Takes 2”
Pharma TV
GSK, Razorfish Health for “Cut Short | RSV Awareness Campaign”
Print for Consumer
Inizio Evoke for “Pixi & Alex’s Adventure”
Professional Marketing
DDB Health for “ReThink CML”
Public Relations Campaign
Genentech, Syneos Health Communications for “Putting Ableism in the Spotlight with a First-of-its-Kind Musical”
Social Media for Consumer
Ruder Finn for “Launching The 1 Pledge Movement”
Website for Consumer
Lemieux Bédard for “RSV Is No Gift”