HyperRAB Marketing Team
Grifols
Agency Partner: Elevate Healthcare
Grifols Team Members:
Nikhil Gandhi, Director of Marketing, Hospital/Specialty Business
Michael Steigerwald, Deputy Director, Specialty Products
Tamara Ray, Associate Director, Market Research
Elevate Team Members:
Elizabeth Drab, Assistant Manager, Client Engagement
Regina Brown, Account Director
Lexi Moser, Art Director
Tara Powers, VP Creative Director
Barry Schmader, Chief Creative Officer
Lorna Weir, Managing Partner
(Photo above: From left to right: Michael Steigerwald, Tamara Ray, and Nikhil Gandhi.)
Value Beyond the Vial
By 2021, the marketing team behind HyperRAB had already been steadily driving a steep upward trajectory for the immunoglobulin brand franchise for over six years—reaching a leadership position in the rabies postexposure treatment market to be envied. But over the last year, their efforts to drive the brand forward rose to even greater heights. In fact, even during historic challenges that had severely affected all hospital-based products and the need to defend their market share against a new, lower-priced entrant, the team exceeded pre-pandemic sales volume and grew overall share from 83% to 85%.
One reason why the premium-priced brand has been so successful is the team continues to make major strides in not only managing the product’s lifecycle, but in communicating the value of the product, the overall offering, and the leadership role in rabies prevention. For example, in 2018 the science of HyperRAB evolved to make it the first and only high-potency human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) that enables the delivery of the total dose in a lower volume and at fewer injection sites, no matter the wound size or patient weight. Since then, the brand has worked to introduce additional customer-centric attributes such as new vial sizes, packaging and labeling improvements, and enhanced storage conditions.
Furthermore, the team also increased their education efforts to enforce the notion that rabies is a 100% fatal disease—but can also be 100% preventable. The CDC recommends that the proper treatment with rabies vaccine plus an HRIG be given immediately or as soon as possible after an exposure, bite, or attack. It’s called postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). Last year, the company’s market research reported that the appropriate treatment with PEP in the U.S. rose to an all-time high of 82%, up from just 51% in 2015.
The team also undertook a sophisticated customer segmentation initiative to understand what customers need in this new environment and invested in ways to tailor their messaging and improve product supply, education, and patient assistance. Proving that the best way to stay on top is always going the extra mile to serve your customers.
