With an eye—and ear—toward spreading the perseverance and optimism ingrained in the field of science, AbbVie has launched a new podcast series touting the work of its own scientists and other experts.
“The Persistence Lab” debuted Thursday with a first episode that dives into the question of whether medical cures can be discovered and developed faster than they currently are. Over the course of about 20 minutes, host Kira Dineen talks to a pair of AbbVie researchers about the complex process of finding both functional and complete cures for patients, as well as AbbVie’s own work to do so.
The series’ first season will span 10 episodes rolling out every other week, Molly James-Lundak, the company’s VP of R&D communications, told Fierce Pharma Marketing in an interview.
Like the first episode, each subsequent installment will focus on a specific challenge in medicine or healthcare and feature Dineen talking to the people in and out of the lab who are working to address the issue. Every episode will follow a similar three-act “narrative arc,” according to James-Lundak.
“We think that there’s this inherent drama in the work of our scientists and other professionals,” she said. “So, starting with the spark: What’s the hypothesis or the challenge or the idea? And then act two is really about the struggle: What is difficult or challenging? Where do you run up against a barrier or roadblock? And then act three is the shift or the solution.”
The podcast’s target audience is broad: “We think that anyone who has a vested interest in health and the future of healthcare could find value in listening,” James-Lundak said, highlighting patients, caregivers, clinicians and scientists, as well as prospective talent who may be considering roles across AbbVie’s business.
The theme of “The Persistence Lab” came from a desire to inspire listeners with stories of the optimism that’s practically a job requirement for scientists, who must plow ahead with their work despite regular failures and setbacks.
“We thought that that’s a great antidote to everything else that’s happening in the world—to be able to feature what we think is more good news and stories of hope about what’s possible when you have some really smart people who are working to uncover new solutions for disease, new solutions for challenges that people experience with their healthcare,” James-Lundak said.
The new audio show builds on recent efforts by AbbVie to boost awareness of its teams’ patient-driven work, including in the “I Am” corporate campaign that launched last summer and spotlights both patients and scientists impacted by the company’s mission.
As for why a podcast was the right medium for its newest awareness-raising initiative, James-Lundak cited data showing that podcasts are about as popular as linear TV among younger demographics. She also suggested that the podcast channel offers the chance to build a uniquely “intimate relationship” with listeners by providing valuable, educational information.
“What we want to achieve with the podcast is really to pull back the curtain on the way in which a company like AbbVie does its work around discovering, developing and ultimately delivering new medicines,” she said.
“We don’t think that's well understood. I mean, you see ads on the TV for medicines that people can be prescribed by their doctor, but you don’t hear a lot about what goes into it and how we get from here to there,” she continued. “We think that there’s a lot of, hopefully, inspiration and interest in hearing about the ‘how it was made’ that we hope will maybe make a lightbulb go off in terms of what really goes into doing this work and why it is so essential that we keep pursuing better solutions to address the toughest healthcare challenges that are out there.”