Médunik USA, a division of Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group, launched Siklos, a prescription medication with the intention to reduce painful blood transfusions in adults and children afflicted with Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA), a rare disease that primarily impacts individuals of African American and Hispanic descent. This new-to-market drug allowed for more accurate dosing, while also being able to dissolve into water for those who are too young or have trouble swallowing. 

The Challenge

Though this drug is profound, it is still considered an “orphan drug,” meaning it is developed to treat the rarest of diseases. This often results in smaller marketing budgets and fewer resources to build awareness among those in need. Siklos did not have a robust sales force, making digital tactics instrumental in creating awareness. The brand desperately needed a programmatic partner who could narrow in on a very niche group of patients for whom Siklos would be helpful. 

The Approach

IQM made awareness their main objective. They worked with Médunik to deliver a highly targeted programmatic campaign centered around a two-pronged audience approach: 

Each approach was layered with African American and Hispanic demographic targeting in key states where the drug had good insurance coverage. Layering both a demographic and geographic parameter onto an already niche audience made the targets much smaller, making precision and delivery of the campaign even more important. The campaign ran native ads driving patients and caregivers to the Siklos website, across desktop, mobile and tablet.

The Outcome

The site visitation and engagement results demonstrate that Médunik and IQM effectively reached the most relevant patients and caregivers who are likely to want to learn more about the drug and its impact on Sickle Cell Anemia. Furthermore, the increase in total prescriptions reinforces that the campaign successfully drove awareness in-market.

❝IQM’s ability to scale such a niche audience allowed us to rach more qualified patients and caregivers than any other DSP partner. As a result, our website metrics exceeded expectations. In fact, almost 1/3 of all our web traffic was attributed to our campaign with IQM.❞

– Caroline Seay, Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group

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BOXED WARNING

The most common side effects include infections and neutropenia in children, and infections, headache and dry skin in adults.

*WARNING: LOW BLOOD CELL COUNT AND CANCER
See Full Prescribing Information for complete BOXED WARNING.

Low blood cell counts are common with SIKLOS^®, including low red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, and can be severe and life threatening. If your white blood cell count becomes very low, you are at increased risk for infection. Your healthcare provider will check your blood cell counts before and every 2 weeks during treatment with SIKLOS^®. Your healthcare provider may change your dose or tell you to stop taking SIKLOS^® if you have low blood cell counts. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms: fever or chills; shortness of breath; body aches; unusual headache; feeling very tired; bleeding or unexplained bruising.Cancer. Some people have developed cancer, such as leukemia and skin cancer, after taking SIKLOS^® for a long time. Your healthcare provider will check you for cancer. You should protect your skin from the sun using sunblock, hats, and sun-protective clothing.