Otsuka debuts new kid-friendly resources about Alzheimer's to ease burden on 'sandwich generation' caregivers

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical is continuing its work to provide support to and advocate for family caregivers.

Since announcing a formal corporate commitment to that advocacy goal in late 2023, the drugmaker’s recent efforts in the area include a report showing that family caregivers would earn six-figure salaries if paid for their work plus a sponsorship of an upcoming documentary film—executive produced by none other than Bradley Cooper—sharing the stories of multiple caregivers.

In its latest move, Otsuka, which markets Lundbeck-partnered Rexulti for dementia-associated agitation, has launched a pair of new resources designed to help people taking care of loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease explain the situation to the children in their lives.

The resources build on an animated short film that Otsuka debuted early last year, “Where the Ocean Meets the Shore,” in which a young boy named Josh comes to terms with his grandmother’s Alzheimer’s. 

Now, families can use Josh’s story to dive even deeper into their own experiences with the addition of a discussion guide and an interactive storybook, both of which aim to teach kids about what to expect when loved ones suffer from dementia and to encourage them to talk through their experiences, fond memories and feelings about the situation.

The new tools were developed based on conversations with actual family caregivers, Randi Rosenfeld, senior director and head of corporate brand and marketing at the company, said in an interview with Fierce Pharma Marketing. They specifically focus on those in the so-called “sandwich generation,” who care for aging parents and young children.

“Our goal was to take things off of their plate,” Rosenfeld said. “Hearing that a point of stress for them and difficulty for them was just, ‘How do I help talk to my kids about what’s going on with their grandparent or an elderly person in their life living with dementia?’—we felt that we could play a role in helping take that burden off of them and providing resources that simplify the conversation.”

The resources, then, “allow a sandwich caregiver to sit down at the table and have those conversations and really get into the experiences of their children and help make a tangible impact on their life,” she said.

The short film, discussion guide and interactive book are all available on a dedicated “family resources” page on Otsuka’s website. The company will also disseminate the resources via “a variety of digital tactics,” Rosenfeld said, including through partnerships with advocacy organizations and social media messaging.

To measure the success of the kid-friendly tools, Otsuka will be taking more of a qualitative approach rather than a KPI-heavy quantitative approach, according to Rosenfeld.

“One of the things that we really do care about is, are we making a positive difference in the lives of caregivers?” she said. “Otsuka is committed to advocating for the visibility of them, for making a tangible difference in their lives. And so one of the barometers for success is that qualitative feedback from the caregivers that we build these materials with: Is it something that’s actually helping in the moment and in the conversation in their home when they’re talking to their kids? Is it providing the value that we hope for it to provide in terms of that positive difference in their day to day?”

Beyond that, she said, in terms of Otsuka’s broader marketing strategy, “our goal is to make sure that we’re connecting back to this role as advocating for the caregivers and to make sure that they’re recognized as being seen and supported.”

Otsuka has taken a particular interest in supporting caregivers, because “they obviously are huge players in the mix in terms of the health experience of those that we serve,” Rosenfeld said, adding, “We do a lot of work across different teams and functions to make that role that they play more visible and support them throughout all of their different experiences, both emotionally and with actual tangible materials as well.”