• by Les Luchter , August 23, 2024

People with food allergies need to avoid the foods causing their problem, of course, but “Accidents Happen.”

That’s the title of a new campaign from Xolair, the first drug approved by the FDA to treat food allergies.

One :60 spot in the VML-created campaign, for example, shows how easy it could be for children to confuse a sunflower butter sandwich with a peanut butter sandwich, or French vanilla ice cream with butter pecan -- both mix-ups dangerous for those allergic to nuts. Another spot includes adults as well as children.

The size of the potential food allergy patient population is enormous – about 4 million children and 13 million adults in the U.S., according to Vas Ratnathicam, senior marketing director, respiratory, for Genentech, which jointly markets Xolair with Novartis.

“This is such a significant disease that impacts so many patients, and we know from experience that despite how patients strive for control, it’s really difficult to have perfect control over your food exposure,” Ratnathicam tells Marketing Daily.

“Accidents Happen” is focused on raising awareness, she says, and will run indefinitely until that job is finished.

“Right now, most patients are avoiding food,” Ratnathicam explains. “They don’t know there’s something available” for allergic reactions.

The campaign includes TV (network, cable), connected TV, online video, digital display, paid social (e.g., TikTok, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram) and search, with media bought by CMI.

While “Accidents Happen” marks Xolair’s first use of TV, it isn’t the brand’s first consumer advertising. That’s because, while the FDA’s approval of Xolair for food allergies came in February, Xolair itself is not new. Around for more than 20 years, the injection treatment is also indicated for asthma, chronic hives and chronic sinus infections, and digital advertising has been used to reach patients.

Teresa Graham, chief executive officer of Genentech parent Roche Pharmaceuticals, told the pharma firm’s Q2 earnings call last month that Xolair had “sort of” reached its peak for asthma and continues to see growth for chronic hives. But food allergies is clearly now the brand’s main driver.

Calling Xolair the highlight of Roche’s immunology portfolio performance during the quarter, she said that "with only four months on the market, we already have more than 15,000 patients on treatment. We expect growth in the second half to further accelerate to reach around 20%. We expect this strong growth momentum to be carried forward into 2025 with year-over-year growth rate in the teens.”

While 15,000 out of 17 million people may not seem like much, Graham pointed out that the process of getting on Xolair takes time.

Part of that process, she said, is that patients first need “to call their allergist” and wait for an appointment.

Then, Ratnathicam adds, “a full clinical history, skin work and blood work” is required.

“it’s really important that patients are vigilant and have good healthy conversation with their allergists to ensure that this decision is right for them,” she says.

Indeed, one of Ratnathicam’s own daughters has a food allergy, but the girl doesn’t get Xolair, at least not yet.

“We’re in conversations with her allergist, discussing whether this is right for her,” she says.

“I feel the same way as many parents as my child gets older and spends more and more time away from me and in the presence of other situations – birthday parties, school, camp, going to restaurants,” she states. “All of these things leave you a little unsettled and make you think of a different solution.”