Spotlight-savvy Kim Kardashian adds Duchesnay med to her talking points

Kim Kardashian is promoting Duchesnay's morning sickness drug, Diclegis, on Instagram.

Kim Kardashian knows all too well about morning sickness. The reality TV star and celeb-magazine cover girl suffered quite publicly when she was pregnant with her first child, North. Now, in true Kardashian style, she's taking to social media outlets including Instagram to promote Canadian pharma Duchesnay's morning sickness med.

Duchesnay found out that Kardashian was taking its drug, Diclegis--known as Diclectin in Canada--to alleviate symptoms during her second pregnancy, USA General Manager Dean Hopkins told FiercePharmaMarketing. The company struck a deal with the celeb to work a little brand magic after she became pregnant with her second child. Kardashian recently took to Instagram to get the word out.

"OMG. Have you heard about this?" Kardashian wrote in a caption. "As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, I felt a lot better and most importantly, it's been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby."

Diclegis--Courtesy of Duchesnay

A Kardashian endorsement could give Duchesnay some star power for its Diclegis branding efforts. The drug's original formula, sold by Merrell Dow as Bendectin, was pulled from shelves in 1983 after lawsuits claimed it caused birth defects. Duchesnay stepped in to test its own version, which won FDA approval in 2013 after the company's clinical trial--along with several other studies and analyses--showed it was safe, New York Magazine reports.

Duchesnay is quick to point to Diclegis' benefits, saying it's the only product approved to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. And about 85% of pregnant women suffer from those symptoms, the company said in a statement, presenting a potentially large market for the drugmaker.

"Our main goal with the campaign is that pregnant women know they don't need to suffer, and that it's a safe and effective med," Hopkins said. "Our focus is on women's healthcare and especially pregnant women and we do everything we can to spread awareness and do what's right for them."

- read Duchesnay's statement
- here's Kim Kardashian's Instagram post
- get more from New York Magazine