Salix Pharmaceuticals is stepping up its promotion of Xifaxan in overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE), putting award-winning actor Bellamy Young at the heart of a campaign to raise awareness of the liver disease complication.
Young, who played Melody “Mellie” Grant in the political thriller TV series “Scandal,” was a teenager when her dad was diagnosed with cirrhosis and started to show signs of OHE. Rather than bring clarity, the cirrhosis diagnosis was followed by more uncertainty because Young’s dad kept changing physically and mentally.
“When you live with someone, the changes can be so nuanced. You don't always notice, you just think, ‘he's having a bad day,’” Young said in an interview with Fierce Pharma Marketing. “The hand flap was a big one that if I'd known then what I know now would have caught my eye.” Some people with OHE slowly flap their hands up and down when attempting to hold their arms out, a condition known as asterixis.
Young’s family “had no idea that a disease in your liver could cause problems with your cognition, your proprioception,” the actor said, and “no idea what to watch for and no idea how to take good care of him.” The situation culminated in Young’s dad being unable to find his way home from the building where he had worked for around 20 years. That led to a visit to the doctor and OHE diagnosis.
Now, Young, who teamed up with Salix last year, is sharing her experience in a Xifaxan campaign. The campaign includes a 60-second TV spot. As well as discussing the experiences of her family with OHE in the video, Young will be engaging with HCPs, caregivers and patients and putting posts on her social media channels throughout the year to raise awareness.
“When my mom and I and my dad were going through this, we did it in secrecy and in shame and alone and there was no community,” Young said. “They didn't know a lot about the disease and there weren't a lot of treatment options available.” Salix is trying to spread the message that the support and treatment options are different today.
Bausch Health, Salix’s parent company, reported 8% growth in Xifaxan revenues in the first quarter. CEO Thomas Appio said on an earnings call last week that the sales growth reinforces Bausch’s “strategy of continuing to make investments primarily in AI-enabled sales tools, DTC advertising.” Appio expects the strategy to drive further growth this year.
The success of Xifaxan, which accounted for 80% of Salix revenues in the quarter, has made the product a key determinant of the future of Bausch. Management is working to hold off would-be generic rivals and cited a legal win over Norwich Pharmaceuticals as a “significant milestone” on the path to a full split from the eye health business Bausch + Lomb. Amneal Pharmaceuticals is also targeting Xifaxan.