Astellas taps into overactive bladder market with garden display
pharmafile | July 13, 2010 | News story | Medical Communications | Astellas, Vesicare, disease awareness campaigns, overactive bladder
Astellas has launched a campaign to raise awareness of overactive bladder with the help of an award winning garden designer and a three metre high pink tap.
The tap is the centrepiece of a show garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, and part of the company’s ‘A Matter of Urgency’ campaign.
The giant pink tap appears to be suspended in the air, and water flows from it constantly into a pool to bring to mind the urgency of needing to go to the toilet.
Created by award-winning garden designer Jill Foxley, the garden targets the over-40 age group in which overactive bladder (OAB) is most prevalent, with some research putting the figure as high as one in five. Despite this, an ICM poll (paid for by Astellas) found almost a third (29%) said they were too embarrassed to speak to their GP about the problem.
Astellas markets Vesicare, one of a number of prescription treatments for OAB. The UK campaign doesn’t mention Vesicare or any other products by name, but is aimed at raising awareness among people with the condition and ultimately increasing prescriptions of the treatment.
Two well-known GPs, Dr Christian Jessen and Dr Dawn Harper from Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies, are supporting the campaign.
Dr Dawn Harper says: “I’m really excited about seeing an enormous pink tap hovering mid-air above this garden – it symbolises the sense of urgency associated with OAB beautifully, as we all know how running water makes us feel like we need to go to the toilet.
“Imagine living in fear of that desperate need to go to the toilet, and imagine being unable to control that need and you are some way to understanding how people with OAB feel a lot of the time. It’s a condition that affects nearly 5.15 million people in the UK so I’m looking forward to spreading the word that help is available, symbolised by the A Matter of Urgency garden.”
Dr Christian Jessen says: “Many people who have symptoms of OAB suffer in silence because they’re too embarrassed to talk about something they feel is a taboo subject. We want to reassure people that they are not alone, and that help to treat the condition is available. If you are suffering from the symptoms of an overactive bladder, go and speak to your doctor who can help you to control your OAB.”
The A Matter of Urgency campaign will be supported with a website www.amatterofurgency.co.uk, an online advertising campaign, and will be on the road throughout 2010, at a number of other public events around the UK. Information leaflets will be provided as well as the opportunities for patients, and those concerned about OAB, to speak to an expert in the area.
Andrew McConaghie
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