Symbicort

Background

Symbicort, a combination of two existing AstraZeneca asthma therapies in one inhaler device, was the second combination treatment to receive a UK licence. Symbicort offers an adjustable dosing regimen, allowing patients to tailor the number of inhalations in line with symptoms, without the need for a new prescription. The challenge at launch was to differentiate the product from its competitor on the basis of this unique advantage.

Approach

Patient research and the creation of an educational brand - 'Living and Breathing' - provided a platform to highlight the variable nature of asthma and the need for a patient-centred approach. Symbicort was positioned as a novel solution to the variability of asthma that meets the needs of patients.

The patient research was developed into a report ‘Living & Breathing - putting patients first in asthma’, forming the basis of an extensive professional relations and medical education programme.

An innovative educational flight-simulator programme, ‘Journey to the Centre of the Lungs’, educated people about the condition by ‘travelling’ through the human body into the lungs of a teenager experiencing an asthma attack.

The media launch involved carefully planned, targeted and timed tactics to generate maximum media coverage in consumer and healthcare media.

Results

• Winner, Communiqué 2002 Launch of the Year
• Professional Campaign of the Year