Would you know the difference between a normal cold and one that has turned into something more serious? Sanofi is raising awareness of bronchiolitis, a potential complication of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in young children, with a new a tough-to-watch PSA video.
In what the French Big Pharma dubbed an “immersive experiment,” the video opens with a mother walking toward a crib overlaid with the sounds of a baby struggling to breathe with a wet-sounding, raspy cough.
Several parents were brought into the room one-by-one, with the sound playing on a speaker (the prerecording is not from a real child and there are no children used in the video) and asked, “what does this sound mean to you?”
The sound, which is usually accompanied by the child’s chest sucking inward, is that of bronchiolitis, a chest infection that can arise in some children due to a progressing RSV infection.
It is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants under one and can advance from a typical cold into a deeper infection over several days, leading to problems breathing and feeding.
The first mother says it “sounds like a cough” but that “a doctor needs to check on it.” The second mother talks haltingly and with high emotion about her daughter Lea previously having RSV and says, “I know this sound.” This is echoed by a father who comes in and says, “it brings back quite difficult memories.”
France-based pediatrician Dr. Fabienne Chan Sellem then comes in saying parents should always talk to their doctor about any worrying symptoms, such as the sounds of those rasping coughs.
Sanofi, alongside AstraZeneca, currently markets Beyfortus, a drug that is designed to help stop RSV turning into bronchiolitis in children. The protective antibody shares the first-season infant market with Merck’s Enflonsia.
Beyfortus has however seen declining sales in the past year, and Sanofi will be hoping this latest awareness push can help boost sales for the new RSV season.
In Sanofi's third quarter financials released in late October, Beyfortus revenue fell 15.4% to €631 million. Much of the drop was driven by the U.S., where the drug generated €240 million, down 39.3% year-over-year. This was partially offset by stronger uptake in Europe and other global markets.
Sanofi has been going all in on Beyfortus marketing. Back in September, it brought in some celebrity mom star power to help spread the word about its pediatric antibody.
For that spot, Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and TV host Keke Palmer teamed up with Sanofi as a paid spokesperson, joining actor and singer Mandy Moore, author Elaine Welteroth, chef Gaby Dalkin, citizen astronaut Katya Echazarreta and gold-medal Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East, all of whom also have teamed up with Sanofi for its RSV messaging.
But Sanofi’s promotions for the drug have not all gone to plan this year. In the summer, Sanofi got in hot water with the U.K. marketing watchdog the PMCPA, which reprimanded the pharma for using “a highly misleading interpretation of data” to make disparaging claims about Pfizer’s RSV vaccine.
It also earned the ire of the FDA in the same week in July, with the U.S. regulator calling out Sanofi’s promotion of Beyfortus in an untitled letter that took issue with the company’s characterization of the med as a general RSV preventative.