A new commercial for AstraZeneca’s Truqap constructs a vision of the extra time that the AKT inhibitor can unlock for some breast cancer patients.
Truqap was approved by the FDA in late 2023 to be used alongside AstraZeneca’s Faslodex to treat a narrower-than-expected group of patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who have experienced recurrence or progression on other treatments.
The approval was based on study data showing that the drug combo reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 50% in the indicated population compared to Faslodex alone, extending progression-free survival to a median of 7.3 months versus 3.1 months.
The recently launched TV ad—the first for Truqap—depicts the memories that can fill those extra months, “unfolding the stories that are yet to be written and remain to be told in the future,” as Alison Dziarmaga, head of AstraZeneca’s U.S. breast cancer franchise, told Fierce Pharma Marketing in an interview.
The “Unfold More” spot starts by showing a woman flipping through a journal embellished with pop-up images. Meanwhile, a voiceover tells metastatic breast cancer patients that “unfolding more of your story may be possible with Truqap,” prompting the woman to stand up and begin walking through a life-size pop-up book of happy moments with friends and family.
As the voiceover goes on to describe the drug’s indication, study results and safety warnings, the woman walks through town arm-in-arm with loved ones—where a theater marquee boasts the med’s offering of “2x more time without cancer growing or spreading”—takes in an art show and concert, strolls through a park, attends a party on a picturesque pier and goes on a camping trip with friends.
The woman travels to each new setting by flipping book pages, with various components of each scene’s background initially appearing as unfolding 2D illustrations before morphing into 3D scenery.
AstraZeneca tested multiple concepts for the ad with patient advisory boards, Dziarmaga said, and “this one, about the unfolding of a story, the ‘more to come,’ the balance of hope as well as educating them on making the right choice for their cancers, was one that really resonated the most strongly.”
The commercial is “rooted in three key insights,” she said, with goals of empowering patients by increasing awareness of available treatments; educating them about Truqap’s efficacy; and issuing a call to action to get them more involved in their own treatment plans—to “encourage patients to ask questions, be curious, understand their biomarker status, so that together with their physician, they can make the right treatment choice for themselves,” the exec said.
At its core, the ad fits in with AstraZeneca’s overarching goals to “put patients first” and advance “biomarker-driven and tailored treatments,” she said.
In breast cancer, for example, Dziarmaga noted that the company offers a range of treatments for patients with different genetic indicators and encourages them to be aware of those biomarkers to improve their treatment plans.
“This ad campaign tries to drive home that message, and it’s very much aligned with what we try to do at AstraZeneca in terms of really knowing the science, following the science, understanding the tumor biology of your cancer, so that together with your medical team, you can make the best decision for you,” she said.
The full 90-second commercial will air on connected TV, with additional campaign promotion on social media channels like Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit and X, plus placement on screens in oncology offices.
As it rolls out, Dziarmaga said AstraZeneca will continue to “do focused market research with patient groups” to monitor awareness of the campaign, while also tracking traffic and impressions across connected TV, social media and the Truqap website.
Since earning its initial approval, Truqap has faced a series of setbacks in additional indications. Last fall, the company presented data showing that the drug had failed a phase 3 trial in certain patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
And just this week, the company shared another set of data documenting another phase 3 fail, this time in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Despite Tuesday’s disappointing news, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot maintained in a conference call the company’s projections that Truqap will eventually achieve between $1 billion and $3 billion in annual sales—though, “having missed on this prostate study, the potential will be smaller,” he added.
In its first full year on the market, Truqap raked in a solid $430 million in 2024 sales. Its $132 million haul in the first quarter of this year, however, came in 17% below analyst expectations and about 19% below its take in the preceding quarter.
In the meantime, another phase 3 trial is still ongoing, testing Truqap in de novo PTEN-deficient metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. The study has already met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival, with an assessment of overall survival still to come.