Winner
Revolutionising Management of Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Europe: Why? What? How?
by AbbVie with support from Lucid Group
Summary of work
AbbVie recently obtained orphan drug designation for the first systemic treatment for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), a poorly understood systemic dermatological disease. As the first and only pharmaceutical partner to the HS community in Europe, it was clear AbbVie was facing much more than providing an effective treatment to patients. Dermatologists were unarmed to tackle this challenging disease – a change in clinical behaviour was needed. Lucid, AbbVie and the limited HS expert community united to advance HS quality of care through a coordinated educational programme, driving a belief in the need for change, raising HCP and patient expectations of care, and providing practical support for delivering excellent HS management – all while expanding and uniting the HS clinical community. The two-year medical education programme has taken the European HS community on a journey of change, resulting in recognition of the need for change in >4,500 general dermatologists, and development of new standards for clinical practice. Furthermore, 135 new HS specialists and 45 new HS specialist clinics have been established, advancing the quality of care in >1,800 patients/month. This united culture will endure beyond the time frame of the programme, changing the lives of patients with HS now and in the future.
Judges’ comments
AbbVie and Lucid have put together a well written, comprehensive and strong campaign, with a clear understanding of the issue. It has strong data on changing behaviours with SMART objectives, demonstrating absolute clarity on the patients’ needs.
