• by Les Luchter , 2 hours ago

Pharma firm UCB has launched “Wear it Out,” a collection of free bespoke T-shirts for patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), plaque psoriasis (PSO) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Designed to confront stigma caused by these chronic skin and inflammatory conditions, the T-shirt designs represent “the daily act of getting dressed, something that hold deep personal meaning for these communities,” Brittany Blair, UCB’s head of patient strategy, U.S. Immunology, said at the start of a recent online event announcing the initiative.

Each T-shirt, she explained, is “a unifying symbol for everyone who chooses to ‘Wear it Out.’”

The very colors of the T-shirts affect their wearability, as can the advantages of a T-shirt versus a button-down.

People with HS, for example, avoid white clothing because of potentially visible drainage staining. So they can get black shirts.

PsO patients, on the other hand, avoid wearing black clothing because of potentially visible flaking. So they can get white shirts.

And stiffness related to PsA can make dressing difficult with a button-down shirt.

Graphic designer/illustrator Sophia Yeshiworked closely with four patients to glean these and other insights that went into the T-shirts, UCB reports.

To receive the free limited-edition shirts, patients go a Wear It Out website where they’re asked to share their own stories via short video or audio. In exchange, they’ll get a shirt along with educational emails.

UCB is promoting the program, planned to last into 2027, mainly through social media. 

The company notes that approximately 2.5 million people with HS are living in the U.S., and  approximately 11.3 million people with PSO or PsA.

UCB’s products in this field, not mentioned in the unbranded “Wear it Out” campaign, include Bimzelx for all three conditions and Cimzia for PSO and PsA.