After an earlier-than-expected FDA green light, Shionogi is rolling out COVID-19 antiviral Xocova with a tagline urging consumers to “make the call” on the pill after exposure.
Xocova became the U.S.’s first oral med approved for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) of COVID in adults and adolescents aged 12 and older in June after first rolling out in the company’s home country of Japan in 2022. The pill is meant to be taken once-daily over a five-day regimen within 72 hours of coming into contact with someone who has COVID.
The mid-summer launch coincides with the COVID-19 summer spike that has occurred in the U.S. every year since 2020, Shionogi points out in a July 28 press release, citing data that signals another COVID summer wave may be already on the way. The company emphasizes the importance of having the med, available at pharmacies, “on hand” and available to take within the 72-hour window following exposure
“Taking Xocova to help prevent COVID-19 in the critical window between exposure and symptom onset makes sense for anyone who wants to try to avoid illness, and it could be especially beneficial for older adults and individuals with health conditions that may put them at higher risk for severe illness,” University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine’s Charles Vega, M.D., commented in the release.
The company’s new “Got the Call, Make the Call” campaign kicks off its consumer education push and includes a national TV ad and streaming, video and audio amplification.
The 90-second TV ad, ‘Hi Mom’, starts with a mother answering a phone call from her sniffling son. He bares bad news: “I have COVID-19, and I think I exposed you and Dad yesterday,” he says.
Mom rises from the couch to call her doctor, with one ear toward a phone call with her doctor and the other phone, her son still on the line, pressed to her other ear. Her son, listening to Mom’s end of the conversation with Dr. Warren, suggests she ask about Xocova.
The doctor confirms that Xocova is the only prescription pill for people 12 years and older to “help prevent you from getting sick after exposure to COVID-19,” she says, as a graphic displaying the indication bounces on screen. Mom relays this information to her husband as the doctor goes into trial results proving that the drug reduces the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 by 67%.
The Dad trails Mom as she paces around the living room on both phone calls while a voiceover lists Xocova’s prescribing information and side effects, continuing as the couple humorously bumps into each other and attempts to share the phone to allow both to listen in.
“He’s at high risk,” the Mom says, handing Dad both phones and interrupting his incoming sandwich bite in the process. With the son again saying to ask about Xocova, the scene begins to play again, but this time with the Dad asking the doctor about Xocova as Mom takes the chance to chow down on the sandwich.
“You never know when, but when you get the call, make the call,” a different voiceover says at the end of the spot, before an “ask your doctor about Xocova” jingle plays over the sound of a ringing phone.
Although COVID’s peak has long been in the rearview, the virus remains highly transmissible and up to 47% of people living with an infected individual could develop the infection as well, according to Shionogi. As the first and only COVID preventative pill, Xocova represents a unique new addition to the COVID landscape, which includes vaccines and treatments such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s Lagevrio.