DHIVY Marketing Team
Avion Pharmaceuticals
Agency Partner: Calcium
Avion Pharmaceuticals Team Members:
Art Deas, Chief Executive Officer
Shannon Faught, Chief Commercial Officer
Kevin Buckle, Vice President Marketing, Specialty Therapeutics
Mary Claire Kenworthy, Vice President Marketing, Women’s Health
Brian Scott, Senior Product Manager, Neurology
Brad Harmon, Head, Corporate Affairs
In the photo above: top row (left to right): Art Deas, Brad Harmon, and Brian Scott. Bottom row (left to right): Kevin Buckle, Mary Claire Kenworthy, and Shannon Faught.
When Avion purchased DHIVY, a Parkinson’s Disease medication with a breakthrough delivery, they developed an entirely new neurology business unit to equip HCPs with the brand and educate patients and their care team to help them fully understand and utilize DHIVY’s functionally scored CD/LD tablet design. This unit included a focused, nimble marketing team able to make actionable decisions about what really mattered—manifesting the dream of bringing DHIVY to market and watching it change as many lives as possible.
This group includes Art Deas, Chief Executive Officer, who supported and inspired his team throughout the entire process. The new PD-focused unit is led by Shannon Faught who brought her extensive experience and leadership skills to the table. Mary Claire Kenworthy was indispensable during pre-launch and leveraged her decade’s worth of experience to shape the DHIVY strategy and brand. Another key player was Kevin Buckle who applied his years of experience to perfect DHIVY’s launch strategy and implementation. The efforts of Brad Harmon gave Avion the tools to connect with the PD community and form partnerships that gave patients and their loved ones a place to voice their experiences and expertise. And the team’s newest member, Brian Scott, contributed to the launch implementation while directing the group’s eye toward sales team strategies, so that DHIVY could have the best opportunity to reach as many people as possible.
The team launched the “Now Available” campaign on February 14, 2022. This launch marked the beginning of a strong relationship with the PD community, of which DHIVY was simply the first step. Avion reached patients through partnerships with the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the American Parkinson’s Disease Association. When the informational website SeeParkinsons.com, was launched, the team was met with resounding success with over 16,000 visits, with 7% of visitors returning to the site after their initial exposure. The most-viewed video on the web page, titled “Unmet Needs in PD Treatment,” had 1,770 views and showcased the resonance of the content and need for new treatment approaches shared across the PD community.
Perhaps the most rewarding measure of the team’s success however, came in the form of seeing doctors realize in real-time how many lives could be changed by DHIVY’s design during live demonstrations. Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing neurological disorder, with 60,000 Americans diagnosed each year, insufficient treatment options, and no known cure. Avion is guided by the ever-changing needs of their patients, and still have plans for more to come following DHIVY. Plenty of work can still be done to support the community and usher in a brighter future for those affected by Parkinson’s disease.
