Campaign Statistics:

    • 15 Pieces of Coverage  
    • Air time: 75 Minutes 
    • Audience Reach: 33.3 Million 

Shot from Channel 5 News coverageShots from ITV North East News coverageShots from BBC Look North Lunchtime coverageShots from BBC Look North Lunchtime coverageShots from BBC Look North Evening coverage4media group were commissioned by pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca to promote the launch of their new lung cancer drug, Imfinzi via broadcast PR. The broadcast day was fronted by Dr Alastair Greystoke, a consultant medical oncologist at Newcastle University and the Northern Centre for Cancer Care along with Mohit Manrao Director of the Oncology Business Unit at AstraZeneca UK. To extend the already existing human element of the story we organised case study with the brand to tell their story to various broadcasters across the UK.  

Every year, approximately 38,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with Non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), of which 20% have stage III disease which is when cancer has spread within the lungs but has not yet reached other parts of the body.  

AstraZeneca launched the drug, Imfinzi (durvalumab) which aims to cure people with the disease. Unlike stage IV NSCLC, (also known as metastatic) where the goal of treatment is to prolong life and provide palliative care, there may still be a chance to cure patients with stage III disease. 

Durvalumab is the first and only immunotheraphy stage 3 NSCLC to be made available to patients in England via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) after clinical trials showed the drug reduced risk of death by a third (32%) and has received a positive recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)  

So how does the drug work?  

  • Durvalumab targets PD-L1, an important part of the mechanism that cancer cells use to hide from the body’s immune system. 
  • PD-L1 is widely expressed on T-cells and tumour cells. 
  • By selectively blocking PD-L1, durvalumab can enable the immune system to recognise and attack the cancer cell. 

The campaign achieved phenomenal broadcast coverage, with highlights including BBC Look North (lunchtime and evening shows), Channel 5 News, ITV News Tyne Tees, BBC Radio Newcastle, BBC Radio Tees, Sky News Radio and more.