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https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/company/globalnews/2014/0614_01.html
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Germany’s ‘Look closer’ hyponatremia awareness campaign was honored with the Astrid Award, a design prize for Outstanding Achievement in Design Communications.
The Astrid Awards, established 25 years ago, celebrate and reward the best international design communications in healthcare. The international Astrid Awards program received nearly 550 entries from around the world and Otsuka won Bronze.
The campaign is targeted at Healthcare Professionals in Germany. It was developed to create awareness for hyponatremia and to work on the paradigm shift in hospitals to make physicians aware of the disease and to ensure that patients get the best treatment for hyponatremia.
A chameleon has been chosen as image of the campaign as it also changes appearance, can hide, and cannot easily be seen sometimes, so you have to take a closer look to find it. The same is valid for hyponatremia. With that eye-catcher we want to draw the attention of the physician to the disease.
“I was very proud and happy that we won the award. As a company that provides the only approved treatment for hyponatremia secondary to SIADH (syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone secretion) in Europe, we have to constantly work on raising awareness of this condition. So physicians recognize hyponatremia, see the patients, and are able to treat these patients in the best possible way,” said Kristina Saala, Marketing Manager - Specialty Products, Otsuka Pharma GmbH.
Patients with hyponatremia secondary to SIADH have a water overload, so they are often “treated” with fluid restriction. They are sometimes only allowed to drink only 500 ml per day, which is a real torture. With our innovative drug, patients are allowed to freely and partly drink according to their thirst. And as this, an Otsuka creative oral drug, is a Vasopressin receptor antagonist, it induces aquaresis, so the patients lose the overload of water. It is worth working every day to create awareness, so that patients will receive the best, modern treatment. We believe the design of the chameleon shows the valuable change of innovative therapy to patients with hyponatremia.