Nicole Yohn, PhD, Associate Director, Marketing, Gilead-Kite Oncology
Immunomedics, Inc. was preparing for its first-ever commercial launch with Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy), the first and only FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugate indicated for later line use in the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC).
Nicole Yohn, PhD, needed to move several large dials—quickly. As the company’s first product launch, she needed to build confidence not only in Trodelvy, but also, in Immunomedics. Initially, her team anticipated a six-month launch runway. However, the FDA granted approval for Trodelvy in April 2020, a full three months sooner than anticipated. In addition, the global COVID-19 pandemic created a unique need for a fast transition to a virtual campaign.
Given the short timeframe and the state of the country, Nicole knew that the only workable strategy was to create and initiate strong peer-to-peer and key opinion leader engagement and management programs to explain the efficacy and safety of Trodelvy to potential prescribers and providers.
Nicole enlisted 40 speakers who had meaningful experiences with Trodelvy during clinical trials to convey key messaging. The team pre-recorded four broadcast educational segments about the drug’s safe and effective use. These programs reached 477 providers. Nicole and her team also orchestrated 260 regional events attended by 1,877 providers.
Her efforts were successful. Immunomedics achieved its ambitious revenue goals following the launch and Gilead Sciences acquired the company in October 2020, providing additional resources and scale to continue the work of attaining standard of care status.
