Jonathan Kuhn
Sr. Director, Global & Brand Marketing
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.
Prepared For Launch
Launching a brand to the top of the market takes both passion and partnership. And Jonathan Kuhn knows a thing or two about that. Early in his career, while in sales at Merck where he helped lead Vioxx in his territory, his team exceeded expectations by pushing the new brand over the incumbent Celebrex to take over the top position in his sales territory. A couple years later, his involvement in the launch of Maxalt led to another victory—within just one year the product took the number two sales position.
Shifting focus to the marketing side, Jonathan also helped propel brands such as Zetia and Vytorin. And with the launch of Provigil into two new indications, his team achieved growth of the brand by well over 350% within a few years.
In 2010, Jonathan was offered the chance to join the launch team for AMPYRA, a symptom-based therapy for MS-related walking difficulty. Jonathan and the team executed the “Think MS, Think Walking, Think AMPYRA” HCP campaign to encourage HCP participation in AMPYRA discussions. The launch of AMPYRA was heralded as one of the most successful biotech launches of 2010.
With an eye on achieving synergies within the brand, in 2015 Jonathan joined the consumer team at Acorda Therapeutics. Along with agency partner JUICE Pharma Worldwide, Jonathan in collaboration with the rest of the marketing team launched an integrated “Moment of Truth” campaign, which pinpoints that crucial moment when a patient can no longer ignore the impact of MS-related walking difficulty. There’s urgency in this epiphany, and testimonial-style headlines dramatize the moment patients realize they can take action by asking for AMPYRA.
This latest launch is just another example of Jonathan’s overwhelming passion for partnership that leads to helping patients—the cornerstone of what Acorda Therapeutics is all about.
