Testing this tool

KEY PERSONNEL: JAZ OVENDEN, NATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER, ALK CANADA ANDREW DESBARATS, GENERAL MANAGER, ALK CANADA DANIEL CÔTÉ, NATIONAL SALES MANAGER DAVID COUGHLAN, PRESIDENT, ICI MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS BRIEF COMPILED BY ICI MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS (DAVID COUGHLAN, FAUCY BRAND, RACHEL MCNEELY)

ALK CANADA ALK Canada is a subsidiary of ALK a research-driven, global pharmaceutical company focusing on allergy prevention, diagnosis and treatment. ALK has been at the forefront of allergy treatment for almost a century and is the foremost innovator in allergy immunotherapy. ALK Canada’s vision is to grow the Canadian AIT market and establish SLIT-Tablets as efficacious treatment options for dissatisfied patients on conventional therapy. Their stated goal is to establish SLIT-Tablets as an evidence-based AIT treatment that results in an improved quality of life. To achieve these stated goals ALK has invested in a sales team that visits allergists, ENTs and Respirologists (and some general or family practice physicians via a third party company) to convey the key selling messages that support the use of SLIT-Tablets in the appropriate patients. However, many patients fall through the cracks for the reasons stated above (physician indifference, delay in referral, lack of awareness of AIT options and benefits). While sales representatives are able to work with physicians to identify and prioritize which patients might need a referral to an allergist, this does not address the issue that there is a large number of patients who do not discuss their allergies with their physician and are therefore unaware of the treatments that could help relieve symptoms, reduce medication burden (burden is defined by the number of medications a person with allergies is taking to reduce their symptoms) and improve quality of life by targeting the root cause of their disease, the immune system