Catiolanze Campaign Shifts the Mindset for Eye Specialists

Treating Glaucoma: Work for Santen Pharmaceuticals helps to improve patients' lives

When Syneos Health set out to create a campaign for Santen Pharmaceuticals’ Catiolanze, the team identified a powerful opportunity. The task was not simply to promote a treatment for glaucoma. It was about helping eye specialists rethink their approach to patient care. To do that effectively, the campaign needed to challenge assumptions, disrupt expectations, and clearly stand apart in a competitive market.

By listening to patients, the agency realized that glaucoma specialists and ophthalmologists often focused almost exclusively on preserving vision. What many overlooked was how critical treatment adherence is to achieving successful outcomes. This gap in mindset created an opportunity to engage healthcare professionals in a bold, fresh way.

Glaucoma therapies, particularly those that lower intraocular pressure, can cause discomfort. That discomfort often leads patients to skip doses or stop treatment altogether, jeopardizing the effectiveness of their therapy.

Catiolanze is a preservative-free latanoprost eye drop formulated in a cationic emulsion that optimizes the delivery of latanoprost and provides benefits to both the tear film and the ocular surface. This provides greater comfort for patients and may support better adherence to treatment. However, the campaign’s true ambition was to shift the market narrative. Syneos Health set out to help specialists recognize that adherence is a key success factor in glaucoma treatment and that Catiolanze was designed with this in mind.

Making Adherence the Hero of the Story

Rather than relying on conventional product messaging, the creative team sought a concept that would break through the noise. They needed an idea that was simple, striking, and capable of disrupting industry norms while resonating with healthcare professionals.

This led to the creation of Gary the Gecko, a character that brought the concept of adherence to life in a playful and memorable way. Gary became a symbol of how Catiolanze supports treatment success, standing out boldly in a market dominated by serious, clinical campaigns.

“The gecko was the perfect metaphor,” said Johannes Ottomeyer, creative director at Syneos Health. “It gave us a strong, relatable image that captured both the sticking power of the product and the positive outcomes it delivers for patients. We wanted something disruptive that didn’t look or feel like anything else in the category.”

Ottomeyer highlighted that the creative approach extended beyond the character itself. The vibrant world built around Gary amplified the disruptive nature of the campaign.

“We created an entire world, like the wilds of the jungle, which became Gary’s backdrop,” he explained. “That environment expressed life, vibrancy, and resilience. We wanted to inject energy and a human touch into the science and make it feel truly different.”

Merging Scientific Credibility with Creative Boldness

Syneos Health combined bold creative thinking with scientific rigor. Working closely with medical experts, the agency ensured that every aspect of the campaign remained clinically accurate while standing out with fresh, engaging storytelling.

“These early steps helped us deeply understand the disease, the product, and the patient experience,” Ottomeyer said. “We wanted healthcare professionals to see clearly how an established molecule in a new formulation; a cationic emulsion can support patient adherence to treatment. We knew we needed to disrupt the market with a message that genuinely mattered.”

A Global Campaign That Delivered and Stood Out

The campaign launched in six countries in 2024, including Germany, Spain Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. This year, additional countries such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Czech France and Italy will joined, with more launches planned. Syneos Health executed a fully integrated strategy that included sales tools, scientific materials, physician engagement, trade show activations, and social media content. At every touchpoint, the disruptive creative approach helped Catiolanze stand apart from competitors.

At the heart of the campaign was a striking visual of a drop of emulsion medication transforming into Gary the Gecko. This unexpected image made the concept of adherence easy to understand and impossible to ignore.

“What we aim for in all our campaigns is to show that storytelling matters,” Ottomeyer said. “It is not just about promoting a product. It is about telling stories that challenge expectations, change behavior, and improve outcomes.”

Changing Behaviors and Shaping the Market

The campaign quickly delivered results. Physicians began recommending Catiolanze for treatment-naive patients and switching patients from other treatments that were not well-tolerated. The disruptive creative approach played a key role in positioning Catiolanze as a standout option in a crowded therapeutic area.

For Ottomeyer and the team, the greatest success went beyond market share.

“When we see doctors prescribing this medication as a trusted, go-to option for future patients, it is incredibly rewarding,” Ottomeyer said. “It shows that we have not only influenced behavior but changed mindsets. That is when we know we have made a real difference for our client and, most importantly, for patients.”

Johannes Ottomeyer, creative director, Syneos Health