Julie Baker, Senior Director, Epidiolex Marketing, Greenwich Biosciences
For patients and families affected by rare and severe forms of epilepsy, like Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a marijuana-derived cannabinoid called cannabidiol (CBD) had shown real medical promise. But with so much stigma surrounding cannabinoid products sold online and in dispensaries, and so few regulations controlling what was in them, Julie Baker knew that launching Epidiolex—the first and only highly purified, clinically tested, FDA-approved CBD formulation—posed some major challenges.
So instead of simply sending sales reps off with a detail aid and a sales pitch, Julie launched Growing Innovation—a virtual reality experience that allowed doctors to literally step into the fields, facilities, and labs that went into each and every bottle of Epidiolex. After viewing the VR and inspecting every inch of the manufacturing process and clinical rigor behind Epidiolex, doctors were left with a newfound sense of trust in an unprecedented product.
In fact, in less than a year since Julie launched the Growing Innovation initiative, over 12,000 patients have received Epidiolex prescriptions, and over 2,500 physicians have written prescriptions. But, most important, with diseases as debilitating as Dravet syndrome and LGS, Growing Innovation showed physicians that, with Epidiolex, they could stop worrying about what was in their treatment, and return their focus to the families who stood to benefit from a novel path forward.
