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Bristol Myers Squibb debuts first spot for Sotyktu during the Grammys

If there were ever a place to talk about showing some skin, it’s the Grammy Awards. Amid all the sparkle and star power of the event, Bristol Myers Squibb launched its first DTC spot for newly approved plaque psoriasis med Sotyktu.

The spot, “Found It,” focuses on two people who have cleared their skin and gained confidence thanks to Sotyktu, the once-a-day pill for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis which was approved by the FDA last fall.

The ad references the impact psoriasis has on daily life, including something as seemingly innocuous as clothing choices. Our woman, who is about to helm a talk onstage, chooses a cream sleeveless top. The man, much to the consternation of his teen daughter, chooses to wear a skimpy, red Speedo-style swimsuit while on vacation.

“All patients talk about is their consciousness about what they wear, so we we wanted to mix it up,” Michael Braun, senior vice president of immunology at BMS, said in an interview.

“You have one serious situation, someone’s going on stage to do a presentation. She’s picking the outfit, then she asks, should I wear the jacket or not? And she ditches the jacket at the end and it shows that confidence and that freedom. Then you have the lighthearted one with the dad and the daughter.”

This relatable and lighter tone plays into what BMS CEO Giovanni Caforio, M.D., stressed on a fourth-quarter earnings call earlier this month, that the Big Pharma is shaping its portfolio to be “younger, more diversified and more resilient” in the face of an “increasingly complex” pricing environment both in the U.S. and overseas.

The goal is to reach a wide and varied audience as psoriasis affects around 7.5 million people nationally and 90% of them have plaque psoriasis. This spot is just the start to what Braun calls a very robust campaign to ensure it reaches its target. There will be TV, connected TV, online videos, social channels and of course direct point of care in doctors’ offices.

Sotyktu is off to a strong launch, with more than 2,000 prescriptions as of the end of November since its approval in September and market share in the oral moderate to severe psoriasis market at roughly 12%.