Guideline Advocacy Strategy
IP leveraged its Medical Affairs expertise and relationships with key opinion leaders to support a clinician-led effort to draw attention to treatment for a rare disease, resulting in the publication of new clinical practice guidelines.
The Challenge
The client had launched a therapy for the treatment of a rare disease whose symptoms can be easily confused with other disorders thus making it extremely difficult to diagnose and treat. The current clinical practice guidelines for oncology had previously included treatment recommendations for patients with this rare condition as a subset of a larger guideline, making it difficult for experts to identify and manage the disease.
The IP Solution
IP developed a plan support increased visibility and awareness for the treatment of the rare disease within the guidelines by:
- Working with the client to identify and engage stakeholders to develop a comprehensive advocacy strategy for requesting the rare disease to be separated from the larger guidelines, which would support increased visibility.
- Coordinating the KOLs in the writing and submission of a letter requesting that the rare disease be moved to a separate and distinct guideline.
The Results
The decision-making panel charged with creation, maintenance, and updating of the guidelines determined the request had merit and sufficient evidence. The panel decided to separate out the rare disease from the existing recommendations within the larger guideline and publish an entirely new guideline focused on the treatment of this rare disease. This effort supported proper visibility among oncologists and other stakeholders that could better diagnose and treat patients.
