Excellence in New Product Introductions

Summary of work

The earlier stages of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma (CSCC) are widely regarded as manageable with surgery and radiotherapy. However, a proportion of patients in the UK will go on to develop advanced CSCC (aCSCC), associated with overall survival of just 8 to 15 months. Without systemic options, there was pressure to operate on patients with aCSCC, despite high risks of recurrence, disfigurement, or functional loss impacting quality of life. For a successful launch, it was crucial to not just raise awareness of our product, but to also challenge the status quo in referral pathways and treatment considerations. Incorporating oncologist-prescribed systemic treatments into a paradigm dominated by local interventions required a shift from a surgeon-led patient pathway, to a more collaborative, multidisciplinary decision-making approach. The campaign targeted changes in attitudes and behaviour across the multidisciplinary team. Without an established tradition of clinical and patient advocacy, the groundwork for a treatment paradigm shift has been set within 12 months of launch by a targeted, agile campaign that has amplified the voice of early adopters and clinical experts, who described the medicine as a step-change in the treatment of aCSCC patients.

Judges' comments

The winning entry was very honest about achievements during a global pandemic. But, regardless, Sanofi Genzyme and Lucid managed to challenge existing treatment paradigms, delivered an impressive sales performance and genuinely improved patient’s lives.