Eisai has put direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising at the heart of its ongoing efforts to expand demand for Leqembi. Seeking to grow prescriptions in the U.S., the Japanese drugmaker is now targeting TV advertising toward recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease patients.
The launch of Leqembi got off to a slow start but, having established diagnosis and treatment pathways in the U.S. and begun to stimulate demand, Eisai is now embarking on initiatives intended to drive long-term prescription growth. The drugmaker, which first discussed (PDF) direct-to-patient plans in March, shared more information on its fourth-quarter earnings call last week.
CEO Haruo Naito described on the call Eisai’s plans to launch targeted DTC advertising in the U.S. this year. The company is aiming ads at patients and their caregivers through addressable TV, he said, a type of advertising that enables targeting of specific audience segments. By targeting recently diagnosed patients, Eisai wants to boost understanding of Leqembi and its effects on Alzheimer’s.
Naito suggested that DTC advertising could cut the time between when a patient is diagnosed and begins treatment. Overall, Eisai is aiming to increase the number of patients who speak to their doctors about Leqembi and, ultimately, to get more people on the medicine.
“We have seen a certain effect so far, and we’d like to continue this next fiscal year onward,” Naito said of the pharma’s awareness-raising efforts.
Eisai’s earnings presentation included a slide showing the impact of DTC advertising on long-term prescription forecasts. The graph showed a steady ramp-up throughout 2025, followed by a steeper increase in the company’s 2026 financial year, with the forecasted effects extending into fiscal 2027 and beyond.
The DTC advertising push follows a year in which U.S. Leqembi sales hit 26.1 billion Japanese yen ($180 million), up from 3.8 billion Japanese yen the previous year. In fiscal 2025, Eisai is predicting global Leqembi sales will reach 76.5 billion Japanese yen, compared to worldwide sales of 44.3 billion Japanese yen in 2024.