Client in the Spotlight: Layla Van Simaeys, Director of Patient Engagement Marketing, Amgen

The Client in the Spotlight is a series highlighting Relay clients and their achievements. The series will feature clients from different industries and include the unique ways that they are using Relay.  If you would like to nominate someone for the Client in the Spotlight, please contact Taylor Fleming at tfleming@relaynetwork.com.

This month, we are proud to feature Layla Van Simaeys, Director of Patient Engagement Marketing at Amgen, one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies that discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics. Layla and her team at Amgen provide a communication and engagement strategy for patients with rare diseases who rely on their therapeutics. Layla oversees six of the brands and has made it her mission to unify the strategy across the portfolio and create a consistent patient experience.

Because of the nature of their patient groups, Amgen has adopted a high touch engagement approach, deploying a dedicated person to support each patient at the onset of their treatment. This PAL (patient assistant liaison) works with the patient directly, walking them through everything from insurance to education and sticks with them through completion of the treatment.

However, some patients prefer an alternative to the high touch PAL model. Layla and her Amgen team sought a mobile solution to add to their strategy that could emulate that same high touch approach in a different way. Enter: Relay Patient Feeds. In their first year, Layla led the launch of experiences across seven distinct brands, enhancing the patient experience in a meaningful way for those undergoing treatment.

For her incredible effort to improve the patient experience, Layla has been named a 2024 DTC Top Marketer of the Year. The Top DTC Marketer of the Year award aims to recognize DTC (direct-to-consumer) marketers from pharmaceutical companies who use innovative strategies to improve patient health outcomes. Marketers are chosen based on their proven ability to build and launch successful campaigns that make a meaningful impact on their patients’ lives.

Sample Amgen Patient Experience

Amgen’s Relay program was a key part of Layla’s nomination for DTC Top Marketer of the Year and was integral to her win. To quote the nomination, “One noteworthy project that exemplifies their dedication is the triumphant launch of experiences on Relay across seven distinct brands in one year. What sets this achievement apart is not only the scale of implementation but also meticulous focus on reporting and continuous optimization.”

Layla sees Relay Patient Feeds as an extension of the high touch model, complementing that approach while helping to make their operations more scalable. Although Relay is a digital channel, she noted its ability convey empathy through personalization, humanizing the experience for patients. Relay Patient Feeds have helped improve patient access, drive better adherence, encourage completion of therapy, and provide ongoing support, especially for those with chronic diseases. After the initial campaigns were deployed, Layla and her team used data and reporting from Relay to optimize the experiences. Because of the flexibility of the tool, she was able to incorporate changes on the fly that made an immediate impact on the patient journey. Layla is excited about building on her Relay program in 2024.

Most recently, Layla spoke about her experience with Relay at the PAP Conference in March. To hear the entire presentation, you can check it out here. To read more about Layla’s DTC Marketer of the Year award win, click here.

To learn more about the Relay Feed Platform and how it can help your business, reach out to sales@relaynetwork.com

To see how Relay Patient Feeds can help enhance overall patient experience, you can get your own feed by clicking the link below: