Endo is taking its Peyronie's disease campaign from the vegetable aisle to the pool hall. Having initially relied on wonky veg to discuss the men’s health condition, the drugmaker has now brought four people with Peyronie's together to shoot some pool and chat about their experiences.
Across three videos, the men, who range in age from 37 to 69, discuss the events leading up to their diagnosis with Peyronie’s, the options they were given and, for two of the people, their experiences of taking Endo’s Xiaflex. David, 41, discussed how the condition “was very much affecting me mentally and was affecting me physically” and meant he couldn't be the husband that his wife needed.
“I'll come to bed. She's reading a book. I turn on the TV, because we knew that whatever we attempted wasn't going to work out to the benefit of either of us,” David said. “I haven't had a circle like this to talk to anyone about this. I never knew the word Peyronie's. I didn't know what that was. But now I feel like the conversation has been started. And I'm not alone in this.”
In the second video, the four men discuss what happened when they spoke to their family doctors and urologists. Geoff, 57, was given two main options: Xiaflex or surgery. The men are at different stages, with one, David, “definitely leaning more towards speaking to my doctor about it” but yet to take the leap, in part because of a fear of needles.
The third video focuses on the experiences of two men who have taken Xiaflex. Gary, 37, explained that after four cycles of treatment and penile stretching at home every day “it's better,” even if “it's never going to be the same thing.” Brad, 69, offered reassurance to the others, too, saying that “in terms of the pain, in terms of interruption with life, it wasn't that much of a problem.”
Creating the three unscripted videos, which Endo plans to use in digital and social advertising, builds on a message that the company began to push early this year. In that earlier campaign, Endo looked at “the confusion, stress and loneliness felt by the internal agonizers”—people who spend time worrying and Googling symptoms without taking action. The videos show the experience of men who took action.
Endo grew Xiaflex sales by 9% in the third quarter, causing the drug to bring in $113 million and cement its status as the company’s biggest product. However, the company cited lower-than-expected Xiaflex demand as a driver of the decision to lower the full-year outlook at its branded pharmaceuticals unit.