Mundipharma

What they asked us to do ...

Despite the role of opioid analgesics in relieving patients’ pain being recognised by international narcotics control treaties, legislation within individual European countries has traditionally focused on limiting the potential of criminality, abuse and addiction rather than addressing the needs of patients.  This dichotomy has led to a confusing maze of draconian laws, differing extensively by country, limiting legitimate patients access to the pain relief and management they need.

The ‘Barriers to Opioid Prescribing’ campaign, developed by Cohn & Wolfe in 2005, revealed the extent to which outdated regulations hindered patient access to these effective medicines.

What we did ...

  • Supported by a group of KOL pain experts, C&W undertook a comparative study of legislative / regulatory barriers across Europe

  • Development of a White Paper discussing research findings, gaining endorsement from Francoise Grosstete, MEP and President of the European Parliament Pain Intergroup 2004

  • Sustained media and professional relations campaign around the launch of the White Paper, including distribution to all MEPs

  • Simultaneous internal communication with all Mundipharma Associates to ensure readiness at a local level

  • Presentation of results as a poster at IASP 2005 congress

Our results ...

  • 70 percent uptake of campaign activities by Mundipharma Regional Offices

  • More than 50 pieces of international media coverage (newswire, trade, medical, consumer, online) generated within 3 months of the pan-European launch of the campaign, exceeding SMART target by 40 plus percent

  • 100 percent key message inclusion

  • Campaign showcased during European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) plenary session to more than 2000 HCP delegates

  • Widespread awareness amongst prominent influencers (among others, the European Commission has invited our client to partner with them to raise the European profile of pain management)

  • To date, these activities have led to legislative change in seven European countries