Vertex has begun a full-court press for Journavx, enlisting NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum to discuss his use of the new non-opioid painkiller while recovering from a serious injury.
Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon while playing for the Boston Celtics in May. The power forward quickly underwent successful surgery to repair the ruptured tendon but faced a long, potentially painful recovery. According to this week’s partnership announcement, Tatum’s surgeon prescribed Vertex’s Journavx to treat his acute pain.
“With the intensity of this surgery and recovery, I knew I would need a different approach to managing the pain given the side effects I initially experienced with the opioid pain medication that my surgeon prescribed me,” Tatum said in a statement. “I took Journavx as a non-opioid alternative, and it worked in effectively managing my pain.”
The 27-year-old pro known as “the Anomaly” went on to add that he’s hoping sharing the details of his experience with Journavx will empower other people who are dissatisfied with their current pain management options to talk to their doctors about Vertex’s med.
The Tatum-fronted promotion follows another athlete-centered pain management campaign from Vertex. That unbranded campaign, which launched this past spring, starred football pro Alex Smith talking about the importance of having a plan to deal with acute pain. The former NFL quarterback suffered a leg injury in 2018 that led to a case of life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis, sepsis and 17 surgeries. In the campaign, Smith and his wife discussed feeling overwhelmed by the sudden and unexpected need to figure out how to safely manage his pain with the opioids he was prescribed.
Sales of Journavx, which won FDA approval in January, were $12 million in the second quarter.
Having made progress on Journavx coverage, Duncan McKechnie, Vertex’s chief commercial officer, signaled on an earnings call last month the company’s intent to step up promotion of the pain drug.
“We believe now is the time to make additional investments in our commercial activities behind Journavx. This includes additional marketing activities in Q3, as well as field support, as we continue to secure more access and hospital formulary wins over the coming months,” McKechnie said. “We have high confidence that we are in the early days of creating another multibillion-dollar franchise for Vertex.”