Covid-19: Anti-Virals
Challenge
A global biopharmaceutical company wanted to commercialize an antiviral treatment for the millions of people (per CDC) who are still at high risk of progression to severe illness from COVID-19. Key challenges include the end of the public health emergency; general COVID fatigue; low awareness of personal levels of risk; and lack of proactive communication between providers and their patients.
Our client requested assistance to help address the gaps in COVID high-risk awareness and equip patients and healthcare providers to move the conversation beyond vaccines to risk management and newly available treatment options.
Our Solution
We took a multi-stakeholder approach to address the gaps in COVID high-risk awareness and equip both patients and healthcare providers to move the conversation beyond vaccines to risk management and newly available treatment options.
Identified >200 patient and professional organizations and influential leaders in the US and EU and created a stakeholder engagement plan.
Held listening sessions with ~30 patients to better understand their journey, including catalysts for when individuals seek formal diagnosis and treatment, access barriers they face, and information needs and trusted sources.
Identified opportunities to improve prevention, risk management, testing, and treatment for people exposed to COVID-19.
Facilitated multi-stakeholder advisory boards with 15 patient organizations and professional societies
Defined a ‘core narrative’ with advisors that resonates with patients and providers so they continue to prioritize COVID-19 care.
Led patient preference studies to gain insight into patient behaviors (qualitative n=100, quantitative n=10,000).
Created ten disease-specific messaging documents on COVID-19 for patients at high risk.
Guided social listening studies to understand evolving patient and public perspectives related to COVID in 2022-23.
Guided the creation of an educational video content series for patients and HCPs to improve COVID communications.
Benefit to Client
Stakeholder Engagement for Education: Identified key advocacy stakeholders for engagement on COVID-19 education programs across the US and EU.
Strategic Partnership Guidance: Received strategic guidance on how to best partner with patient and professional organizations as it relates to COVID therapeutics.
Alliance Establishment: Confirmed allies for activating patients and improving physician education.
Core Messaging Definition: Defined core messaging on risk management and timely testing and treatment for patients at high risk for severe COVID.
Strategic Investment: Informed a multimillion-dollar investment in advocacy activities, patient messaging, and physician education to improve outcomes for high-risk patients.
Campaign Implementation: Implemented patient and HCP education and communication campaigns, optimizing materials for patient literacy and cultural sensitivity.
DKI DIFFERENCE
Over the past three years, DKI Health has collaborated with leading healthcare professionals (HCPs) and Patient Advocates to jointly create a position paper that shifts the narrative on COVID-19 management from solely "vaccines" to "vaccines-testing-treatments." We have worked with HCPs and individual patients to enhance HCP-patient communications through educational videos and patient stories. Additionally, we have developed country-specific COVID-19 messaging toolkits and materials tailored to local conditions. These projects were sponsored by Pfizer, with us serving as strategic advisors and relationship managers.