A new awareness-raising effort from Incyte is aimed at giving doctors an up-close look at the emotional and physical challenges their patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) face.
HS is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes painful nodules and abscesses near hair follicles, most often in areas where skin rubs together, like the underarms, groin, buttocks and breasts.
In addition to laying bare the physical symptoms of HS—quite literally, with a photo shoot capturing four people with HS wearing only their underwear—Incyte’s newly launched “HS Truths” campaign seeks to prove that the disease is more than skin-deep by delving into the emotional burdens of the disease.
A campaign video features the four individuals sharing their experiences with HS, as text on-screen notes that HS is “more than a skin condition—it’s a daily struggle” and that more than 70% of HS patients report the condition has at least a moderate impact on their lives every week.
“Everything that I do, everything that I think about, every decision that I make, it’s all based around HS,” one woman, Katelyn, says, as she and her peers go on to describe the many everyday instances that can be made extremely uncomfortable by their HS: sitting on long flights, wearing certain clothes, going to the restroom and even picking up their children.
“It’s kind of like a different lifestyle of living, due to being so uncomfortable,” another of the patients, Jasmine, adds.
The video ends with a call to action for U.S. healthcare providers, the campaign’s target audience: “Let’s get real about HS,” on-screen text reads. “Ready to raise expectations in HS care?”
The “HS Truths” website features additional testimonials from the campaign’s four stars, including how the condition led them to lose work and struggle with mental health. It also offers statistics showing that, for example, a majority of HS patients experience negative emotions when talking to their doctors and that many are unaware of available treatment options and unhappy with their current ones.
The site includes information about the emotional impacts of HS and the mechanisms of current treatments as well as a downloadable conversation guide to shape discussions with patients.
“HS TRUTHS recognizes that each person’s experience is unique and emphasizes the importance of healthcare professionals engaging deeply with their HS patients,” Parish, another of the featured patients, said in the campaign’s launch announcement. “Too often, campaigns miss the reality—we’re not just talking about bumps under the arms. We’re talking about chronic pain, lost relationships and years of feeling dismissed. This campaign tells the whole truth.”
Though the campaign is unbranded, the site includes a form that doctors can fill out to stay up to date on Incyte’s work in HS.
Incyte is currently studying two JAK inhibitor candidates in HS: povorcitinib and ruxolitinib. The latter drug, boasting FDA approvals in atopic dermatitis and vitiligo, is marketed as Opzelura.
HS approvals would pit Incyte’s treatments against AbbVie’s Humira, Novartis’ Cosentyx and UCB’s Bimzelx in the indication.