IBSA Italy is supporting Fedios, the Italian Federation of Osteoporosis and Skeletal Diseases, in its launch of 'it’s D-Day' an innovative awareness campaign for people undergoing vitamin D therapy for easier therapeutic adherence and to optimise treatment efficacy. The campaign has a dual aim: to inform about both the role of vitamin D in bone health and the importance of therapeutic adherence. Long intervals between intake can actually compromise the continuity of therapy. Its effectiveness depends very much on regular intake, which is why it is important to have a tool that reminds the patient when ‘it’s D-day' and time to take vitamin D. The heart of the campaign is in fact the free 'reminder' service, available online at www.eorad.it. Simply fill in a quick form with your details and state the time, day and dosing interval to receive a reminder via WhatsApp for the entire duration of the prescribed therapy. This is an innovative service that makes use of the potential of the most popular messaging app, Whatsapp, an everyday, easy-to-use and popular tool that even older people have been able to get familiar with.Vitamin D is in fact a molecule that is essential for the proper bone metabolism, and a deficiency can lead to weak bone issues over time and as people get older. It is a disease that affects around 5 million people in Italy,80% of whom are post-menopausal women; this figure is bound to increase as the population ages. Unfortunately, adherence to therapy is currently still very low: about 20-30% of patients discontinue treatment early, often merely due to forgetfulness combined with how difficult it is to use the most common treatment options, such as accurate drop counting, the unpleasant taste of oily formulations, and its storage in small bottles that are often hard to open.
In this regard, IBSA Italy has identified an opportunity in the large vitamin D market by developing and making two new dosage forms of vitamin D available this year: one in an orodispersible film and one in soft capsules. These are both pharmaceutical formats that are very easy to take, dose and extremely palatable. The orodispersible film option is easier to take even for those who have difficulty swallowing like children and the elderly.