Kuswantie Agrawal
Director, Cardiometabolic Marketing
Regeneron
Connecting Rare Disease Patients
Kuswantie “Kush” Agrawal has worked in the biopharma industry for 19 years, working at industry powerhouses such as Pfizer, Novartis, Amgen, and Regeneron. Throughout those years, she always understood that success stands or falls by the planning, execution, and dedication you put into it, regardless of whether you’re responsible for HCP marketing, sales, or patient engagement.
In Kush’s role within the rare disease brand EVKEEZA (evinacumab-dgnb), she has partnered with Snow Companies to foster a solid connection within the patient community.
EVKEEZA is a treatment for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), a rare genetic disease characterized by extremely high levels of LDL-C affecting about one in every 200,000 people globally. HoFH being a genetic disease with potentially fatal outcomes if left untreated, the most critical element of any engagement in the space is to ensure people know they have it. That’s why educating patients and their families and motivating them to get screened must be an important focus in this area.
Kush tasked SNOW to build a Patient Ambassador program post-launch, featuring a diverse group of patients who are open and willing to discuss their journey with HoFH and treatment with EVKEEZA. The team was looking to activate patients in this space to engage in conversations about their health and about treatment options, and to advocate for themselves to receive the best care possible. By adding seven Patient Ambassadors post-launch, Kush infused the patient voice in EVKEEZA’s brand strategy.
The Patient Ambassadors are now featured in EVKEEZA’s brand materials. This includes a patient-facing brochure that highlights the journeys of Patient Ambassadors by sharing their stories and profiles as well as their experience with EVKEEZA. They also participate in Peer-to-Peer Programs and Product Theaters. The team also produced testimonial and topical videos that highlight the ambassador journey.
Kush also oversaw the development and launch of EVKEEZA’s mentor program, allowing patients and prospective patients to connect with others living with HoFH.
