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Belviq prescriptions jump following DTC, rep push [Medical Marketing and Media](Medical Marketing and Media Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) IF IT AIN'T broke, don't fix it. The time-tested, one-two marketing punch of a DTC campaign, followed by adding more reps, may do the trick for Arena Pharmaceuticals weight- loss drug Belviq. In a second-quarter earnings call, Arena President and CEO Jack Lief said that Belviq pre- scriptions grew by 43% in the second quarter, up to 110,000 overall, and that scripts have surpassed the 10,000-per-week milestone. More than 330,000 total prescriptions have been filed since its launch, Lief added. Those gains have yet to trans- late into huge sales, though. The drugmaker reported Belviq rev- enue of just $9.9 million, up from $8.4 million in Q1. Dubbed "beyond willpower," the DTC campaign features a hesitant man over the grill as he tries to refrain from anoth- er chicken wing and a woman standing in front of a fridge late at night as a voiceover declares, "I'm still hungry." The campaign seems to suggest that desire alone often isn't enough to control eating habits. (A print campaign leverages the headline, "You could be carrying more than just extra weight.") Since the TV spots debuted in mid-April, Lief said, "new Belviq prescribers have increased from approximately 800 per week to 1,200 per week." Eisai, Arena's marketing part- ner, also deployed an additional 200 sales reps in an attempt to generate further physician pen- etration. The enlarged sales force was expected to be active by July 1. The drugmakers expect these extra feet on the ground will expand their reach to approxi- mately 92,000 physicians. Arena and Eisai aren't bank- ing on reps and commercials alone. Arena has Belviq (loca- serin) in a number of clinical trials to help encourage reim- bursement and extend its life cycle. The drug is currently being investigated for its effects in reducing a patient's chance of developing type 2 diabetes as well as a cardiovascular event (i.e. heart attack, stroke) and to see whether locaserin can be used as an aid to stop smoking. -KM The "beyond willpower" campaign promoting Arena's Belviq (c) 2014 Haymarket Media, Inc. |