Teva Enlists Sarah Michelle Gellar to Launch “Inhaler Tales” Campaign to Raise Awareness About Inhaler Use in Asthma and COPD

Rhea-AI Summary

Teva Pharmaceuticals has launched a national campaign called Inhaler Tales aimed at addressing improper inhaler use among asthma and COPD patients. An animated inhaler, voiced by actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, is central to the campaign, which raises awareness about the impact of inhaler misuse on disease control. A survey reveals that 40% of patients feel their respiratory conditions disrupt their lives, yet many are confident they use their inhalers correctly. However, only 45% adhere to their maintenance inhaler usage as prescribed, indicating a significant gap in effective disease management.

Positive

• Launch of Inhaler Tales campaign to raise awareness about inhaler misuse.
• Partnership with AAFA to gather insights from over 1,000 patients.

Negative

• Only 45% of patients use their maintenance inhaler as prescribed.
• Over 50% may be overusing their rescue inhaler, increasing exacerbation risk.

Survey of Over 1,000 Asthma and COPD Patients Conducted in Partnership with AAFA Finds Symptoms are Disruptive to Daily Lives for Majority of Respondents Despite Treatment

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Teva Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA), today announced the launch of Inhaler Tales – a national campaign aimed at raising awareness about the role inhaler misuse may play in inadequate disease control.¹

Central to the campaign is an animated inhaler voiced by actress, producer, and entrepreneur Sarah Michelle Gellar, who will share her own experience living with asthma and encourage others to take control of their disease.

“I was diagnosed with asthma when I was a kid, so I know the impact respiratory disease can have on your life,” says Gellar. “I’m proud to join forces with Teva to launch this important campaign, and to raise awareness about improper inhaler use and the role of objective inhaler use data in informing dialogue between patients and their physicians.”

Respiratory disease can impact your daily life² if inadequately controlled, and a common problem is inhaler misuse.³ According to a survey of more than 1,000 asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients conducted by Teva in partnership with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), 40% of asthma and COPD patients feel that their conditions get in the way of their lives because they are short of breath.⁴ The same survey found that the majority of respondents feel confident that they’re using their inhaler correctly, but a substantial proportion may not be using their inhaler as prescribed.⁵

“Patients want to get their asthma and COPD under control^6,7 but they may not realize that poor adherence or incorrect inhaler technique⁸ could be contributing to worsening symptoms,” said Sanaz Eftekhari, Vice President of Research at AAFA. “This survey revealed that only 45 percent of respondents report using their maintenance inhaler exactly as prescribed⁹, and more than 50% may be overusing their rescue inhaler¹⁰, which may lead to exacerbation risk.^11,12 This campaign will play an important role in raising overall awareness about this issue, and call attention to the importance of open dialogue¹³ between physicians and their patients.”

As of 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 20 million adults were affected by asthma¹⁴, and another 16 million struggle with COPD.¹⁵ Although these respiratory diseases are common, many patients’ asthma or COPD is still uncontrolled.^16,17 A variety of factors may lead to inadequate disease control¹⁸ and patients often do not realize that they may be unintentionally¹⁹ contributing to the problem by not using their inhalers correctly.²⁰ While patients may be experiencing these issues, healthcare professionals may not always get the chance to review inhaler use and technique with their patients as often as recommended.²¹ Survey findings revealed that a third of respondents forget what they want to discuss when they visit their physician.²²

For more information about digital health options²³, including smart inhalers²⁴, please visit InhalerTales.com.

About Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) has been developing and producing medicines to improve people’s lives for more than a century. We are a global leader in generic and specialty medicines with a portfolio consisting of over 3,500 products in nearly every therapeutic area. Around 200 million people around the world take a Teva medicine every day, and are served by one of the largest and most complex supply chains in the pharmaceutical industry. Along with our established presence in generics, we have significant innovative research and operations supporting our growing portfolio of specialty and biopharmaceutical products. Learn more at www.tevapharm.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are based on management’s current beliefs and expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause our future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from that expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “target,” “may,” “project,” “guidance,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning and expression in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to the commercial success of our digital inhalers portfolio; our ability to successfully compete in the marketplace, including our ability to develop and commercialize biopharmaceutical products, competition for our specialty products, including AUSTEDO®, AJOVY® and COPAXONE®; our ability to achieve expected results from investments in our product pipeline, our ability to develop and commercialize additional pharmaceutical products, and the effectiveness of our patents and other measures to protect our intellectual property rights; our substantial indebtedness; our business and operations in general, including uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business, financial condition, operations, cash flows, and liquidity and on the economy in general, our ability to successfully execute and maintain the activities and efforts related to the measures we have taken or may take in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated costs therewith, costs and delays resulting from the extensive pharmaceutical regulation to which we are subject or delays in governmental processing time due to travel and work restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; compliance, regulatory and litigation matters, including failure to comply with complex legal and regulatory environments; other financial and economic risks; and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, including in the section captioned “Risk Factors.” Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

_______________________________
¹ Lavorini F. The challenge of delivering therapeutic aerosols to asthma patients. ISRN Allergy. 2013;2013:102418. Published 2013 Aug 5.
² Lee LK, Ramakrishnan K, Safioti G, Ariely R, Schatz M. Asthma control is associated with economic outcomes, work productivity and health-related quality of life in patients with asthma. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2020;7(1):e000534.
³ Melani AS, Bonavia M, Cilenti V, et al. Inhaler mishandling remains common in real life and is associated with reduced disease control [published correction appears in Respir Med. 2012 May;106(5):757.
⁴ Teva data on file. Survey Data. 2021.
⁵ Teva data on file. Survey Data. 2021.
⁶ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthma_stats/uncontrolled-asthma-adults.htm. Accessed on September 8, 2021.
⁷ COPD National Action Plan. www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/all-publications-and-resources/copd-national-action-plan. Accessed on September 8, 2021.
⁸ Kaplan A, Price D. Matching Inhaler Devices with Patients: The Role of the Primary Care Physician. Can Respir J. 2018;2018:9473051. Published May 23, 2018.
⁹ Teva data on file. Survey Data. 2021.
¹⁰ Teva data on file. Survey Data. 2021.
¹¹ Jenkins et al. Reliever salbutamol use as a measure of exacerbation risk in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. BMC Pulmonary Medicine. 2015;15:97.
¹² Expert Panel Working Group of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) administered and coordinated National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee (NAEPPCC), Cloutier MM, Baptist AP, et al. 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines: A Report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group [published correction appears in J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2021 Apr;147(4):1528-1530]. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2020;146(6):1217-1270.
¹³ Gruffydd-Jones K, Hansen K. Working for Better Asthma Control: How Can We Improve the Dialogue Between Patients and Healthcare Professionals?. Adv Ther. 2020;37(1):1-9.
¹⁴ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most Recent Asthma Data.www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm. Accessed on August 24, 2021.
¹⁵ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What is Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. www.cdc.gov/copd/index.html. Accessed on August 24, 2021.
¹⁶ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Uncontrolled Asthma among Persons with Current Asthma. www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthma_stats/uncontrolled_asthma.htm. Accessed on August 24, 2021.
¹⁷ COPD National Action Plan. www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/all-publications-and-resources/copd-national-action-plan. Accessed on September 8, 2021.
¹⁸ Melani AS, Bonavia M, Cilenti V, et al. Inhaler mishandling remains common in real life and is associated with reduced disease control [published correction appears in Respir Med. 2012 May;106(5):757.]
¹⁹ Sulaiman I, Cushen B, Greene G, et al. Objective Assessment of Adherence to Inhalers by Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [published correction appears in Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017 May 15;195(10):1407]. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195(10):1333-1343.
²⁰ Restrepo RD, Alvarez, MT, Wittnebel LD, et al. Medication adherence issues in patients treated for COPD. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2008;3(3):371-374.
²¹ Sanchis J, Gich I, Pedersen S; Aerosol Drug Management Improvement Team (ADMIT). Systematic Review of Errors in Inhaler Use: Has Patient Technique Improved Over Time? Chest. 2016;150(2):394-406.
²² Teva data on file. Survey Data. 2021.
²³ Unni E, Gabriel S, Ariely R. A review of the use and effectiveness of digital health technologies in patients with asthma. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2018;121(6):680-691.e1.
²⁴ Larsson, K., Kankaanranta, H., Janson, C. et al. Bringing asthma care into the twenty-first century. NPJ Prim. Care Respir. Med. 30, 25 (2020).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210930005040/en/

IR

United States

Kevin C. Mannix, (215) 591-8912

Yael Ashman, 972 (3) 914-8262

PR

United States

Doris Li, (973) 265-3752

Yonatan Beker, (973) 917-0851

Source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited

FAQ

What is Teva Pharmaceuticals' Inhaler Tales campaign?

The Inhaler Tales campaign by Teva aims to raise awareness about improper inhaler use affecting asthma and COPD patients.

What percentage of asthma and COPD patients feel their condition disrupts their lives?

40% of asthma and COPD patients report that their conditions interfere with daily life due to shortness of breath.

How many patients correctly use their maintenance inhaler according to Teva's survey?

Only 45% of respondents reported using their maintenance inhaler exactly as prescribed.

Who is involved in the Inhaler Tales campaign?

Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar voices an animated inhaler in the campaign, sharing her personal experience with asthma.

What risks are associated with improper inhaler use?

Improper inhaler use can lead to inadequate disease control and may increase the risk of exacerbations.