Michael Steigerwald, Deputy Director, Specialty Products, Grifols USA, LLC
Forty-year-old brands typically don’t maintain their market leadership position, especially when facing competitors offering a lower cost, but thanks to Michael Steigerwald and the rest of the HyperRAB team the brand continues to thrive.
Over the years, the science of HyperRAB has evolved to make it the first and only high-potency human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) that enables the delivery of more of the total dose per mL at the wound site, no matter the wound size or patient weight. While that offers a competitive advantage, Michael and the team didn’t just rest on the science to maintain market leadership. Instead, they undertook a sophisticated customer segmentation initiative to understand what customers need in this new environment impacted by the pandemic. After learning what customers wanted in terms of value, supply, education, and patient assistance, the team invested extra funds to provide added value in these areas that no other brand was providing.
Furthermore, the team continues to invest resources in rabies education to ensure people understand it is a 100% fatal disease that is also 100% treatable—if people get timely treatment. It’s called postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) and requires getting a rabies vaccine plus an HRIG immediately or as soon as possible after an exposure, bite, or attack. The HyperRAB team combined with a host of non-branded educational platforms, such as the Rabies Watch website, to drive this message. Last year, the CDC reported that appropriate treatment with PEP in the U.S. rose to an all-time high of 82%. Meanwhile, HyperRAB exceeded pre-pandemic sales volume and grew overall share from 83% to 85%.
