“Prolia·Evenity drives the osteoporosis treatment market”

[Interview] Amgen Korea's OP treatment marketing team

Prolia settles in the market by dramatically improving existing therapies…improved awareness in hidden high-risk patients

Evenity raises HCP expectations in Korea, being released the third globally… positioned as a first-linet treatment after fractures

Amgen has long been considered the company that has changed the osteoporosis treatment paradigm with potent new drugs.

 

After sweeping over the osteoporosis treatment market with ‘Prolia (denosumab),’ a bone resorption inhibitor, the company then presented a new treatment strategy with ‘Evenity (romosozumab),’ a bone builder with a dual mechanism of action that increases bone formation and inhibits bone resorption.

 

The sequential therapy strategy of using Evenity then Prolia is regarded as the top-priority treatment option in patients at very high risk of fractures.

 

Prolia recorded 75 billion won (based on IQVIA) in domestic sales in just 4 years after its release, and Evenity, which has been rapidly approved for reimbursement, is also settling well in the market.

 

Behind such great success are the hidden efforts of three Amgen Korea’s three PMs in charge of marketing Amgen’s osteoporosis treatments.

 

The PMs Yoochae Park, Ga-eul Lee, and Saim Shin, who have an average of 10 years of experience in the industry, work to make known the importance of treatment to those at high risk of osteoporosis that were left unattended while introducing the effect and treatment strategy of Prolia and Evenity to HCPs.

 

Dailypharm met with the three Amgen Korea PMs that have been driving the growth of Prolia and Evenity to hear about the marketing strategies of the two products and the changing paradigm in osteoporosis treatment.

 

(From the left) PMs Yoochae Park, Ga-eul Lee, Saim Shin in charge of Amgen’s osteoporosis treatments

-Could you tell us about your roles in marketing Amgen’s osteoporosis treatments? PM Yoochae Park (hereinafter “Park”)= I joined the marketing team as a PM for Prolia in Januarya last year.

 

My main tasks include strategy establishment, planning, and material production to strengthen Prolia's position as a market leader in osteoporosis treatment.

 

PM Saim Shin (hereinafter “Shin”)= I joined Amgen ahead of Prolia’s launch in 2016 and worked at its sales team until 2019 when I started to work as a PM for Prolia.

 

I am mainly responsible for overall branding activities such as the development of Prolia messages as well as HCP support activities such as symposiums and webinars.

 

PM Ga-eul Lee (Hereinafter “Lee”)=I am a PM for Evenity.

 

I joined Amgen in March last year and prepared for and executed the non-reimbursed launch of Evenity.

 

My marketing activities are similar to those done by the Prolia team, but more focused on branding activities such as message development and market positioning to promote Evenity, as Evenity is still in the early stages of its launch.

 

-Prolia holds a solid position in the osteoporosis treatment market, recording an annual sales of 75 billion won in Korea.

 

What factors do you believe contributed to Prolia's rapid growth? Shin=In the past, an unmet need among HCPs had existed as there had been insufficient clinical grounds to support the need for long-term treatment in osteoporosis.

 

In other words, treatment efficacy, such as the continued reduction in risk of fractures and continuous increase in bone density from long-term treatment, were not established for the long-term treatment.

 

The long-term data of Prolia in the 10-year FREEDOM clinical study demonstrated the drug’s effect in improving bone density and reducing the risk of fractures.

 

The longer-term between treatments, with a single shot every 6 months, had also improved convenience in administration in patients, allowing them to more realistically receive long-term treatments.

 

Such characteristics that differentiated Prolia from other existing treatments for HCPs and patients were the biggest factor that pushed the growth of Prolia.

 

Park=We were able to directly see the patients’ bone health and density improve after being prescribed Prolia.

 

The HCPs prescription experience and trust in our product has allowed for the continuous growth of Prolia.

 

-With Evenity recently approved for reimbursement, there must be a lot on your plate.

 

What are you most focused on for Evenity?

 

There must be some regrets due to the somewhat limited conditions for Evenity’s reimbursement.

 

Lee=The most important activity for us now is to position Evenity to be used as a first-line treatment after fractures.

 

In this regard, we are focusing more on expanding the market for anabolic agents so that patients who have already experienced fractures can prevent additional fractures.

 

Our focus is on delivering the personalized treatment message to more very-high-risk patients so that they can receive the appropriate treatment to prevent osteoporosis fractures, rather than is limited reimbursement -How have HCPs in the field responded to Prolia-Evenity?

 

Shin=The most difficult issue that the HCPs had faced was that patients were unable to receive continuous treatment despite the HCP’s strong will for their treatment.

 

However, the doctors have acknowledged that continued osteoporosis treatment became a lot easier with the introduction of the once-every-6-months injection, Prolia.

 

According to research, the reduction in fracture risk is lessened if the patients miss 1 of the 2 osteoporosis treatments.

 

In this sense, the high medication adherence in Prolia is a great advantage Lee=With expectations also high for Evenity overseas, HCPs in Korea have shown much interest in the therapeutic benefits of Evenity.

 

In this sense, the most feedback I receive is about how much the HCPs expect a good effect.

 

In addition, the continuous treatment rate of Evenity in HCPs who have previous prescription experience has been maintained high.

 

Also, we were able to confirm successful treatment cases where patients were able to act and return to daily life without protective gear only 3-4 months after receiving surgery for their fractures.

 

-Were there any difficulties in switching the previous face-to-face marketing methods to online due to COVId-19? Shin=At first, digitalizing all marketing directions came as a great burden.

 

All the pharmaceutical companies had launched similar online marketing activities in the same period, and we paid special attention to the online materials that we prepare to increase the mail check rate and the number of webinar viewers.

 

As a result, we have hosted the 24th webcast symposium for osteoporosis experts this year, which has been running for 4 years now.

 

An average of 500 HCPs accessed the symposium live in real-time.

 

It was a difficult but rewarding year in which our symposium was recognized for its quality lectures that address the questions made by HCPs on Prolia and Evenity.

 

Park=Switching all our work to online had increased our load, and also brought concern whether the messages that need to be effectively delivered to the HCPs are being sent one-way.

 

In the field, many HCPs seem to have a positive view of online marketing activities.

 

The HCPs immediately check the material online and request additional material, if necessary.

 

We have been better utilizing the advantages of online communication than our initial concerns, and our message and the advantages of our product are being well delivered online.

 

Lee=Evenity was approved for reimbursement after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the launch symposium for the drug was held as a hybrid event, increasing the need for marketing activities in the online environment.

 

Therefore we considered various measures to organically utilize the brochures, emails, and iPad contents on and offline.

 

Due to our continued efforts, we saw high viewer numbers and e-mail checks from HCPs from the start of the launch.