Challenge
Frontier Medicines is a pre-clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough medicines for cancers and other debilitating diseases. Frontier discovered a way to use chemoproteomics – a new approach to “drug the previously undruggable” disease-causing proteins and deliver treatments. Frontier operated in stealth mode until spring 2019, with no website or other public information available for a year. It had successfully secured $67 million (U.S.) in Series A funding. After a competitive search, Frontier Medicines hired LCI to launch the company in just 6 weeks.
Strategy
LCI sought to secure significant media and industry interest in an unknown entity and to explain its proprietary platform, chemoproteomics, in simple terms. To do so, LCI:
- Developed key messages that work with both the industry and the public, clarifying the company’s mission and purpose
- Established the brand Frontier Medicines as the “one to watch”
- Positioned Frontier Medicines and its leadership team as the leading authority on chemoproteomics: claimed and defined the term
- Pitched strategically to secure launch coverage for the $67 million Series A funding round
- Scheduled pre-announcement interviews for CEO Chris Varma with key national/ trade/San Francisco business targets
- Established an online profile for the company, launched the website, created social media profiles (LinkedIn and Twitter) and delivered analytics
Results
In a 6-week sprint, LCI:
- Developed key messages and conducted media trainings with key spokespeople
- Wrote content and helped build and launch the website
- Created the LinkedIn page and reserved other social media platforms
- Coordinated launch tactics with all investors, partners and media
- Using an embargo strategy, LCI secured interviews with the CEO in top mainstream business media and credible biopharma industry trade press, timed with the launch:
- 75 articles in media outlets worldwide featured Frontier Medicines, generating more than 7.2 million impressions throughout the U.S., Japan and China.
- Business coverage included The Wall Street Journal (2 articles), Silicon Valley Business Journal and San Francisco Business Times.
- Trade coverage included FierceBiotech, BioCentury, BioSpace, Chemical and Engineering News, The Pharma Letter, MedCity News and Science Business.
- LCI supported Frontier Medicines’ hiring efforts by creating an active LinkedIn account. Within two weeks, Frontier Medicines had received more than 200 resumes (in a market with an unemployment rate of 2.4%).
- LCI worked with Frontier Medicines to develop a unique ROI metrics scale that aligned with the client’s priorities and surpassed expectations by 100%.