Jazz Pharmaceuticals has launched Find the Right Fit, a new digital education hub focused on two rare blood cancer types—myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML). The educational center, in partnership with advocacy organizations including Cancer Support Community and Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation, will feature patient stories, resources, articles and video tutorials meant to support patients on their treatment journey. 

The experience of being diagnosed and treated with a rare disease can be extremely overwhelming for patients, especially in the MDS and sAML space, which has historically seen little in the way of drug development. The feelings of anxiety after their diagnosis can be exacerbated with lack of support and lack of information. This hub will help support patients after diagnosis and can serve as a central repository of information as they progress through their journey. Stories highlighting the patient voice will have a prominent place in the campaign, including stories direct from individuals such as Pete, who details his experience with MDS, including two stem cell transplants in addition to his chemotherapy and radiation treatments. 

According to Jazz Chairman and CEO Bruce Cozadd and reporting by FiercePharma, the hub comes at a pivotal time for MDS and sAML patients, as there has been tremendous development in therapeutics in recent years, since "it had been almost a decade with little or no new treatment options available.” 

The agent has been released in a recently crowded therapeutic space, with new drugs entering the market ranging including Astellas' Xospata, Pfizer's Daurismo, Novartis' Rydapt and AbbVie and Roche's Venclexta. Find the Right Fit will be unbranded in nature, and is released following Jazz’s approval of Vyxeos in 2017, approved to treat two common types of sAML. Given the nature of the market, and increase in the number of treatment options can also mean an increase in confusion among patients and caregivers. Find the Right Fit may provide patients with much needed clarity as they strive to find the right drug to treat their condition. 

About the Author:

Elizabeth Katta, Lead Researcher, is a member of the global Insights Lab at Syneos Health. Her research helps inform decisions at the patient and physician level to drive marketing strategy for both internal stakeholders and external healthcare clients. At Syneos Health she informs her team’s strategy designing primary research utilizing her background in biochemistry, clinical research, and public health. Her area of expertise lies in a deep understanding of various aspects of clinical trials including patient recruitment, site management, and trial coordination. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois and a Master of Public Health from DePaul University.