Hidden Depths: Overcoming Emotional Barriers in Cardiovascular Drug Adoption
How a pharmaceutical company navigated unexpected hurdles in launching a cardiovascular (CV) drug that seemed poised to revolutionize the market.
What do you do when your data isn’t giving you the answers you need? You dig deeper.
Traditional research methods rarely get to the heart of the problem, because they typically overlook the key drivers behind patient behavior and brand choice: humanity. With a series of case studies based on our Hidden Depths methodology, we want to go beyond the superficial knowledge of customers, to spark transformation and understand "real humans".
When one multinational life-sciences company struggled to understand why their game-changing drug wasn’t making waves, they turned to us at Integro to gain deeper understanding.
The need to dig deeper
Our client had developed a CV drug that demonstrated exceptional efficacy in clinical trials, positioning it as a potential game-changer for cardiovascular patients. The drug had shown significant benefits in reducing hospitalizations and mortality rates, and the company anticipated a strong uptake from healthcare professionals (HCPs) – particularly among cardiologists (Cards) and primary care physicians (PCPs).
However, once the product launched, it faced slower-than-expected adoption. Early market research pointed to typical barriers such as cost, limited access, and the challenge of identifying the right patients for treatment. However, the company suspected there were deeper psychological barriers at play. This discrepancy between expectation and reality prompted the need for a more profound exploration of HCP attitudes and emotions regarding the treatment.
Hidden Depths: Voicing the unspoken
To uncover these challenges, we implemented our Hidden Depths methodology: a psychoanalytic approach designed to explore the subconscious factors influencing decision-making. This technique went beyond traditional market research by focusing on the unspoken, symbolic, and hidden emotions that drive behavior.
The research involved around 24 in-person, three-hour interviews with cardiologists and PCPs, conducted both at home and in their professional environments. The in-depth nature of these interviews allowed trained psychologists to access the emotional and psychological layers that might not surface in typical surveys. Half of the respondents also participated in follow-up interviews lasting one hour, and all participants completed a pre-exercise to prepare them for the discussions.
Understanding the challenges to adoption
The interviews revealed critical insights into why HCPs hesitated to embrace the revolutionary drug.
Perceived Risk and the 'Fixer' Mentality: HCPs expressed that cardiovascular disease is a precarious condition to treat due to the high stakes involved. Any missteps could significantly impact patient outcomes. Cardiologists and PCPs viewed themselves as ‘fixers’, and the notion of a new drug added complexity to their role. Rather than empowering them, the drug’s perceived novelty and high expectations made them feel as if they were shouldering more risk.
Emotional Bonds with Patients: Cardiologists and PCPs who treated chronic conditions developed long-term relationships with their patients. They found it challenging to communicate the benefits of the drug — such as reduced hospitalization and mortality — without causing fear, particularly among patients in the early stages of the disease. These conversations required careful emotional navigation, and many HCPs felt inadequately equipped to manage this aspect of care.
Misalignment in Brand Communication: Existing communications portrayed the drug as the ‘hero’, but HCPs felt that they, not the drug, were the ones ensuring positive patient outcomes – especially given the risks involved in prescribing it. The brand’s positioning as the hero of the story didn’t land with many HCPs, who believed the narrative undermined their expertise and role in patient care.
Insights in action
These findings prompted the company to reevaluate its marketing and communication strategy. The research demonstrated that traditional sales messages focused too heavily on the drug's clinical benefits, without addressing the emotional and psychological hurdles that HCPs faced.
As a result, the marketing team redesigned their messaging to align more closely with the emotional landscape of HCPs. The focus shifted from positioning the drug as the hero to supporting HCPs as the true advocates for patient wellbeing. The brand communication was also revamped to be more empathetic, and to recognize the emotional complexity of discussing serious cardiovascular conditions with patients.