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Post by nccapitalist on Jul 9, 2015 10:00:55 GMT -5
There is no doubt that Afrezza needs to be on TV and SOON! I waited an hour for my endocrinologist in a packed waiting room this week. Absolutely no one was reading magazines therefore no one was reading Diabetes Forecast Magazine (where our Afrezza ad was placed initially)! Most were looking down at their cellphones as could be expected. No, there were no rules about cells in a waiting room. I suppose some would say that this periodical is geared towards health providers. We however, know that DTC is "direct to consumer" which includes little old us diabetics.
If we see one more commercial for Victoza and others, my TV's going to a yard sale. LIFE CHANGER Afrezza is sitting powerfully in the wings (inventory) with few hearing of it. Sanofi marketing needs to awaken and not wait until the 4th quarter or longer for TV spots. Lets talk Sanofi!
NC |
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Post by notamnkdmillionaire on Jul 9, 2015 10:23:11 GMT -5
And that is what I have been alluding to and feared. I never thought many are going to be reading these magazines unless you are diabetes wonk (doctor or sufferer who wants to know everything about your disease and I'd guess that is a small % of diabetics). I still think this is the next phase of targeting diabetic professionals and not diabetics themselves.
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Post by suebeeee1 on Jul 9, 2015 10:32:04 GMT -5
We zip through commercials on TV all the time. However, even zipping through them, it is impossible to miss the MANY, MANY ads for various diabetic meds being marketed directly to consumers. What are the reasons that Afrezza is not there? Possible answers: Sanofi has done a lousy job reaching docs before patients start bombarding their offices, Sanofi has done a lousy job educating docs, or Sanofi doesn't want to risk capital and the expense of televison ads.
All in all, I hope they know what they are doing, but from where I stand...not so much.
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Post by nylefty on Jul 9, 2015 10:39:36 GMT -5
TV advertising at this point would be counter-productive. Patients might persuade their doctors to write prescriptions, only to be turned down by their insurance companies. Better to wait until more ins. cos. upgrade Afrezza to Tier 2, so patients could actually afford this med.
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Post by nccapitalist on Jul 9, 2015 10:41:59 GMT -5
I guess we will find out what their commitment is by years-end. January, 2016 is the first month they can back out of the Mannkind deal. I sure hope they put a much bigger effort in before that month is reached. If we lope along like this, it's not fair to judge Afrezza if relatively no one has even heard of the medicine. |
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Post by rvc on Jul 9, 2015 10:52:07 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I believe you're 3rd answer is the most accurate. It's becoming more apparent to me that Sanofi, for whatever reason, isn't as excited about Afrezza as the patients are.
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Post by mssciguy on Jul 9, 2015 10:59:49 GMT -5
The insurance questions need to be straightened out.
This takes time.
The proof of superiority needs to be shown in the new study.
This takes time.
Doctors are still being educated.
This takes time.
Dr. Vetter said, "best medication in the past 50 years" and so have many patients.
More opinions will be voiced in far greater numbers--- but... This takes time.
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Post by nccapitalist on Jul 9, 2015 11:01:25 GMT -5
TV advertising at this point would be counter-productive. Patients might persuade their doctors to write prescriptions, only to be turned down by their insurance companies. Better to wait until more ins. cos. upgrade Afrezza to Tier 2, so patients could actually afford this med. Afrezza samples would carry patients a couple weeks so they could determine how it works with their biology. That would give them time to sign up for the Sanofi savings card. That's what I did and I pay $100 out of pocket so it is similar to a Tier 3. Afrezza has been on the market for 5 months and we have no idea when blanket insurance coverage would ever begin. More scripts would provide leverage for Sanofi in their discussions with insurance providers.
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Post by bradleysbest on Jul 9, 2015 11:09:55 GMT -5
The SNY partnership was announced several months (6) before the "soft" launch. My question is why didn't the education of Doctor's start sooner? It seems they took a long time to get their Affreza sales team picked & educated. They could have been quicker to the draw with all the money & resources they have at their disposal. Their is no way (IMO) SNY scraps the deal & abandons Afrezza in early 2016! Feeling your pain but hopeful TV ad's are a game changer!
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Post by compound26 on Jul 9, 2015 11:19:56 GMT -5
I guess we will find out what their commitment is by years-end. January, 2016 is the first month they can back out of the Mannkind deal. I sure hope they put a much bigger effort in before that month is reached. If we lope along like this, it's not fair to judge Afrezza if relatively no one has even heard of the medicine. Brian, I sure wish Afrezza is being advertised on TV right now. On the other hand, there is merit in the argument that it will be more effective to run the TV ads when the doctors are better educated and the insurance coverage for Afrezza improves after the initial 6 months of launch. We all know that TV ads are expensive, Sanofi sure does not want to waste the money easily. Also, what if Sanofi spends a lot of money right now on TV and because the doctors are not well educated yet and the insurance coverage is not ideal yet, and therefore the demand for Afrezza is not as high as expected? Therefore, I think it is reasonable for Sanofi to fire their ammunition efficiently and economically. If we consider that Afrezza was officially launched in the beginning of Feb., it hasn't been 6th months yet. We have already seen print ads, Afrezza coaching programs, and Afrezza educating dinners for doctors. It is reasonable to expect that we will see TV ads in probably a few months (I would guess starting from Sept/Oct). In the meantime, TV news reports like the one Eric has done and the one you are arranging for will be golden (in my eyes better than TV ads!). They will be posted on Twitter and forwarded through emails (I do not think many people will forward Afrezza TV ads to others). It will also be free to Sanofi and Mannkind! With respect to the news report you are arranging, if your Endo can also show up on the news report, that will be especially helpful. This will send a strong and encouraging message to the others physicians regarding Afrezza prescription. All in all, many thanks to you and your Endo for your great efforts in spreading the news about this life-changing medicine! Thumbs up! I believe, with the print ads, Afrezza coaching programs, Afrezza educating dinners for doctors, social media (Twitter and blogging), news reports that are coming up more and more often (the LA times report, the Chicago Tribune report, Eric's new appearance, the report you are arranging for, Sam's letter to the Atlantic Diabetes Center newsletter, etc.) and the better A1Cs that the prescribing doctors are seeing more and more, the momentum is building. We are definitely approaching the tipping point, steadily. |
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Post by dreamboatcruise on Jul 9, 2015 11:25:01 GMT -5
I certainly agree with the sentiment that more ground work needs to happen before TV ads make sense. However, I also agree with bradleysbest in still being a bit surprised at how long it seemed to take to get the gears moving in the first place. There is a lot of water under the MNKD bridge and I guess that is simply more of it. We'll probably never get any insight into why (I think some here believe all the time was necessary to build up stock of Afrezza). Though it will be interesting once the SNY-MNKD agreement is fully revealed to look at the sales projections and see how reality stacked up against their original projections. |
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Post by nccapitalist on Jul 9, 2015 11:49:53 GMT -5
The SNY partnership was announced several months (6) before the "soft" launch. My question is why didn't the education of Doctor's start sooner? It seems they took a long time to get their Affreza sales team picked & educated. They could have been quicker to the draw with all the money & resources they have at their disposal. Their is no way (IMO) SNY scraps the deal & abandons Afrezza in early 2016! Feeling your pain but hopeful TV ad's are a game changer! Sales are always the determining factor. Scripts need to keep climbing and sales need to increase. We don't want Sanofi to have any other choice then to continue on with Afrezza in 2016. If sales meander as they are, I'd be very worried come early next year. That's why we want to see the urgency of getting the word out. Get it on TV NOW! |
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Post by nccapitalist on Jul 9, 2015 11:53:53 GMT -5
Brian, I sure wish Afrezza is being advertised on TV right now. On the other hand, there is merit in the argument that it will be more effective to run the TV ads when the doctors are better educated and the insurance coverage for Afrezza improves after the initial 6 months of launch. We all know that TV ads are expensive, Sanofi sure does not want to waste the money easily. Also, what if Sanofi spends a lot of money right now on TV and because the doctors are not well educated yet and the insurance coverage is not ideal yet, and therefore the demand for Afrezza is not as high as expected? Therefore, I think it is reasonable for Sanofi to fire their ammunition efficiently and economically. If we consider that Afrezza was officially launched in the beginning of Feb., it hasn't been 6th months yet. We have already seen print ads, Afrezza coaching programs, and Afrezza educating dinners for doctors. It is reasonable to expect that we will see TV ads in probably a few months (I would guess starting from Sept/Oct). In the meantime, TV news reports like the one Eric has done and the one you are arranging for will be golden (in my eyes better than TV ads!). They will be posted on Twitter and forwarded through emails (I do not think many people will forward Afrezza TV ads to others). It will also be free to Sanofi and Mannkind! With respect to the news report you are arranging, if your Endo can also show up on the news report, that will be especially helpful. This will send a strong and encouraging message to the others physicians regarding Afrezza prescription. All in all, many thanks to you and your Endo for your great efforts in spreading the news about this life-changing medicine! Thumbs up! I believe, with the print ads, Afrezza coaching programs, Afrezza educating dinners for doctors, social media (Twitter and blogging), news reports that are coming up more and more often (the LA times report, the Chicago Tribune report, Eric's new appearance, the report you are arranging for, Sam's letter to the Atlantic Diabetes Center newsletter, etc.) and the better A1Cs that the prescribing doctors are seeing more and more, the momentum is building. We are definitely approaching the tipping point, steadily. Compound, I am waiting for ABC to get back to me after my endocrinologist responds to her. It will be a combination spot of my endo and myself side by side. Should be good, I hope. |
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Post by ezrasfund on Jul 9, 2015 11:55:41 GMT -5
I think MNKD and SNY have a five year plan for turning Afrezza into a blockbuster drug, not a five month plan. We see competitors firing off a barrage of advertising to counter the Afrezza launch. When the smoke clears Afrezza will still be standing and ready to go on the offensive. This will be a long battle. Issues like insurance reimbursement make it clear that the insulin wars could not be won in a few months.
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Post by babaoriley on Jul 9, 2015 12:03:56 GMT -5
NC, appreciate your passion, but I think it's okay to wait on TV ads. There is momentum building, albeit slowly, and surely more slowly than we all anticipated, but if you look at how the scripts are building, and realize that at some point, we will hit "critical mass" where there will be enormous buzz about Afrezza among diabetics, I think there is justification for optimism.
Also, when Sanofi says print ads, certainly not all of those will be in magazines in doctors' offices which are largely unread.
Further to your comment on cell use in doctor's waiting rooms, thank goodness for that, it's a win-win for most! Conversations should not be allowed, please go outside for those, but for net surfing, what a great way for impatient patients (aren't most of us in that category) to while away the time while we wait for the equivalent of "slam, bam, thank you ma'am" when you finally get to see your doc! Helps keep the patients' blood pressure down, and lets docs off the hook for what is unacceptably long waits in the appropriately named waiting room.
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