Boehringer seeks NHS partners for COPD campaign
pharmafile | June 1, 2012 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Boehringer, COPD, disease awareness campaign
Boehringer is seeking NHS partners for its COPD campaign: ‘Know it. Check it. Treat it.’
The campaign aims to raise awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a serious lung disease.
It is designed to encourage people to ‘Know it’ – by recognising the main symptom of a shortness of breath and persistent cough.
‘Check it’ – by seeing their doctor or nurse if they experience any of these symptoms.
And to ‘Treat it’ – by managing the disease effectively and making lifestyle changes.
Boehringer’s biggest product is its COPD treatment Spiriva, which is co-markets with Pfizer – the drug made $4.2 billion in sales last year.
The German firm said that all NHS teams are invited to apply to take part in the campaign, and preference will be given to NHS teams that meet defined criteria that include working in areas of high COPD prevalence and unmet need.
Dr Charles de Wet, medical director at Boehringer, said: “The campaign is targeted at men and women over the age of 35, who show signs of COPD such as persistent coughing and shortness of breath.
“Prior to the launch of the campaign, extensive research was carried out with healthcare professionals and consumers to provide key insights on the best ways to target this audience.
The campaign was originally established by Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer, in partnership with NHS teams, to provide support to doctors, nurses and community pharmacists across the UK to raise awareness of COPD.
The first COPD campaign by Boehringer was piloted in Salford in the autumn of 2010.
During this period, some GP practices in the area reported that the number of undiagnosed COPD patients presenting doubled or even tripled, according to Boehringer.
In 2011, nine NHS regions took part in the campaign, targeting more than 50,000 potential undiagnosed COPD patients.
Screening events were held in campaign regions to identify potential COPD patients and refer them to their GP/practice nurse for further investigation.
Over 80 regional screening events were held across the country, attracting an average of 70 attendees per event.
NHS teams were sent campaign materials, including patient leaflets, brochures and banners to publicise the campaign locally and offered support to launch their campaign to healthcare professionals, consumers and the media.
In the UK, 3.7 million people are thought to have COPD and over three quarters of those are unaware that they have the disease.
Many people only discover they have COPD when they need to go into hospital because their symptoms suddenly become much worse.
Boehringer hopes that its new campaign will increase awareness and diagnosis of the condition, which in turn will lead to more patients using medical treatments for the disease.
For NHS regions interested in applying to take part in this year’s campaign, please email kct@porternovelli.co.uk.
Ben Adams
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