LEO Pharma launches #everydaypsoriasis campaign to mark World Psoriasis Day

BALLERUP, Denmark, October 28, 2020 - LEO Pharma A/S today marked World Psoriasis Day by launching a series of videos featuring patients that outline the everyday challenges of living with psoriasis.

The #everydaypsoriasis videos give personal perspectives on the challenges of living with psoriasis. To accompany the patient videos, LEO Pharma staff from around the world filmed a manifesto during COVID home-working restrictions, outlining their everyday commitment to supporting patients with psoriasis:

WATCH OUR MANIFESTO VIDEO HERE 

The #everydaypsoriasis campaign video. More information can be found at www.everydaypsoriasis.com

The LEO Pharma campaign is in support of the annual International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) World Psoriasis Day. This annual awareness day is dedicated to people living with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis and is aimed at spreading information and raising the profile of these debilitating diseases.

October 2020 marks the second year of a three-year ‘Connected, Informed, United’ IFPAtheme, with the theme of ‘Be Informed’ the focus of this year.

Henrik Kyndlev, Director of Global External Communications at LEO Pharma, said: “We’re proud to support IFPA’s important initiative, and are keen to do our part in helping people ‘Be Informed’ about psoriasis this year.”

“Our campaign supports this theme in a very simple but powerful way - namely by bringing attention to some everyday psoriasis stories of real-life patients. After all, psoriasis is not just about a single day, but is an everyday challenge for many patients.”

The #everydaypsoriasis campaign centres around three audio-interviews with psoriasis patients, whose stories are brought to life with short animations depicting the everyday challenges they face.

‘Jane’ talks about how the simple, everyday experience of grocery shopping is a challenge, as she feels people are looking at her skin, and think her psoriasis is contagious. Psoriasis is in fact an auto-immune disease and so is not contagious – one of the key messages IFPA want to focus on in 2020.

Watch Jane’s video: click here

‘Steve’ speaks about the sense of futility he sometimes feels because of the cycle of psoriasis flares, and the feeling of going through a “revolving door”.

Watch Steve’s video: click here

‘Becky’ talks about how having psoriasis as a child affected her confidence, and the ongoing challenge she feels now as a young adult.

Watch Becky’s video: click here

Alexandre Fevre, Vice President of Global Marketing, Psoriasis, at LEO Pharma, said of the campaign, “For many patients, psoriasis goes beyond just being a cosmetic challenge. Nearly 60 percent¹ of people with psoriasis say their disease is a large problem in their everyday life.”

“This campaign draws attention to some of the everyday psoriasis challenges and gives a voice to psoriasis patients. We also hope it demonstrates LEO Pharma’s continued commitment to helping people achieve healthy skin.”

“As we say on our campaign website, the encouraging news for many patients is that there are ways to manage the condition. Not just treatments, but lifestyle changes too. If you or someone you know is experiencing #everydaypsoriasis challenges, consider approaching your doctor for advice.”

The #everydaypsoriasis videos can be viewed at www.everydaypsoriasis.com.

About psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the skin in 125 million people worldwide.^1,2 About 80% of patients are affected by plaque psoriasis, the most common clinical form of psoriasis.² The symptoms of plaque psoriasis are itchy or painful, scaly, inflamed plaques. Plaques may appear anywhere on the body, but often appear on the scalp, knees, elbows and torso.³ Psoriasis is characterized as mild when less than 3% of the body is affected and moderate to severe when more than 3% of the body is affected.⁴

References

1. Stern RS, et al. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2004;9(2):136-9.
2. Menter A, Korman NJ, Elmets CA, Feldman SR, Gelfand JM, Gordon KB, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Section 3. Guidelines of care for the management and treatment of psoriasis with topical therapies. J Am Acad Dermatol 2009; 60: 643-659.
3. Menter A et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2008;58:826.
4. Armstrong AW et al. JAMA Dermatol. 2013;149(10):1180–1185.