Modafinil ADHD Marketing Plans Include DTC After First Year
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Cephalon's promotional plans for the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder treatment modafinil (formerly Attenace) include direct-to-consumer ads after the product's first year on the market
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Cephalon's promotional plans for the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder treatment modafinil (formerly Attenace ) include direct-to-consumer ads after the product's first year on the market. "We are excited about the prospect that [DTC advertising] would offer in the future but...we are not doing it in year one," CEO Frank Baldino said during a Sept. 1 conference call. The call was held to discuss a copromotion agreement for the product with J&J's McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals division (see 1 (Also see "Johnson & Johnson To Co-Promote Cephalon's ADHD Treatment Modafinil" - Pink Sheet, 1 Sep, 2005.)). DTC is "a real volume driver, it drives a volume of patients into physicians' offices," he said. Physicians "need to be fully comfortable with this product and all the benefits and risks before you run a DTC campaign." Cephalon is positioning the non-stimulant ADHD medication as an alternative to amphetamine products. In particular, the company is looking at patients already on stimulant medications who may want to transition to a non-schedule II drug because either they find stimulant medications ineffective or cause unwanted side effects. The company is considering initiating trials to compare efficacy between modafinil and stimulant ADHD medications in the "coming years." "No head-to-head studies have been conducted," Baldino noted. Modafinil has an Oct. 20 user fee deadline and is expected to launch in early 2006. - Christopher Hollis |