Urovant Sciences® Announces Partnership with Thinx Inc. to Help Americans with Overactive Bladder This Travel Season

  • Urovant Sciences, Inc and Thinx, Inc Form a Unique Partnership Designed to Educate People Living with The Symptoms of Overactive Bladder (OAB)
  • For Patients With OAB, Traveling or Enjoying a Night Out Can Be a Daunting Thought, Worrying Whether They Will Make it in Time to the Bathroom
  • The Newly Launched Time to GoTM Campaign Offers Travel Kits and Helps People Learn About Treatment Options for Managing OAB While Traveling

 

IRVINE, Calif. & BASEL, Switzerland – November 14, 2022 – Urovant Sciences, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd., announced the launch of Time To GoTM today, a multi-channel educational campaign in partnership with Thinx Inc., the leading period and incontinence underwear brand. This campaign highlights the impact of overactive bladder (OAB) and introduces options for managing symptoms of OAB, which may make those suffering from OAB feel more comfortable leaving their home this travel season. OAB patients are encouraged to discuss their symptoms with their doctor to determine their best treatment options to help manage the condition.

November is Bladder Health Awareness Month and it’s also the start of holiday and winter travel. But for approximately 33 million Americans who have symptoms of OAB, travel can be daunting. OAB causes sudden urges to urinate that are difficult to control and can result in leakage, as well as frequent urination – usually eight or more times a day.1,2 For many people with OAB, these symptoms can put a damper on the idea of going too far from home.

“Research shows that OAB can impact people’s willingness to travel, with patients reporting that it keeps them from going on longer trips, 3” said Walt Johnston, Executive Vice President of Commercial at Urovant Sciences. “We are excited to team up with Thinx Inc. to provide people with OAB information and resources to help them start the conversation with their doctor about managing their OAB symptoms so they can consider their next adventure.”

In a study of over 200 patients with OAB, several patients report restricting their travel to short trips and about 76% try to learn where bathrooms are located so they can get to them quickly.3 Research also shows that many people with symptoms of OAB often delay seeking help from their doctors. This may be because they are too embarrassed to discuss their symptoms or mistakenly think it’s a normal part of aging.4

“Speax by Thinx is designed to help people living with bladder leaks to feel confident, comfortable, and protected all-day long, lessening their worries about leaking,” said Meghan Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Thinx, Inc. “We’re thrilled to partner with Urovant Sciences on the Time To Go campaign to get people talking about OAB to help reduce the stigma around the condition, and give people options to manage their OAB symptoms, including comfortable leak protection.”

To help people learn more about OAB and ways to manage symptoms, a free travel kit is available on TimeToGo.com. The kit provides information about overactive bladder, information about a prescription medicine for OAB in adults, GEMTESA® (vibegron), the GEMTESA savings program, and a coupon for Speax by Thinx, Inc. Speax are absorbent, reusable underwear for bladder leaks that are designed to be a sustainable alternative to pantyliners.

About Overactive Bladder

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a clinical condition that occurs when the bladder muscle contracts involuntarily. Symptoms may include urinary urgency (the sudden urge to urinate that is difficult to control), urgency incontinence (unintentional loss of urine immediately after an urgent need to urinate), and frequent urination (usually eight or more times in 24 hours).2 About 33 million US adults experience the bothersome symptoms of OAB.1

About GEMTESA

GEMTESA® (vibegron) is a prescription medicine for adults used to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:

  • urge urinary incontinence: a strong need to urinate with leaking or wetting accidents
  • urgency: the need to urinate right away
  • frequency: urinating often

It is not known if GEMTESA is safe and effective in children.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Do not take GEMTESA if you are allergic to vibegron or any of the ingredients in GEMTESA.

Before you take GEMTESA, tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if you have liver problems; have kidney problems; have trouble emptying your bladder or you have a weak urine stream; take medicines that contain digoxin; are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (it is not known if GEMTESA will harm your unborn baby; talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant); are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed (it is not known if GEMTESA passes into your breast milk; talk to your doctor about the best way to feed your baby if you take GEMTESA).

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take , including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your doctor and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

What are the possible side effects of GEMTESA?

GEMTESA may cause serious side effects, including the inability to empty your bladder (urinary retention). GEMTESA may increase your chances of not being able to empty your bladder, especially if you have bladder outlet obstruction or take other medicines for treatment of overactive bladder. Tell your doctor right away if you are unable to empty your bladder. The most common side effects of GEMTESA include headache, urinary tract infection, nasal congestion, sore throat or runny nose, diarrhea, nausea, and upper respiratory tract infection. These are not all the possible side effects of GEMTESA. For more information, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please click here for full Product Information for GEMTESA.

References:

  1. Gomelsky A. Update on the management of overactive bladder: patient considerations and adherence. Journal of Urology. 2010
  2. Mayo Clinic. Overactive bladder – symptoms and causes. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/overactive-bladder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355715 .
  3. Filipetto. The patient perspective on overactive bladder: a mixed-methods needs assessment. BMC Family Practice. 2014
  4. Hahn SR et al. Physician-patient communication about overactive bladder: Results of an observational sociolinguistic study. PLoS One. 2017.

About Urovant Sciences

Urovant Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for areas of unmet need, with a dedicated focus in urology. The Company’s lead product, GEMTESA®(vibegron), is an oral, once-daily (75 mg) small molecule beta-3 agonist for the treatment of adult patients with overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency. GEMTESA was approved by the U.S. FDA in December 2020 and launched in the U.S. in April 2021. Urovant Sciences, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd., intends to bring innovation to patients in need in urology and other areas of unmet need. Named one of the Fortune® Best Workplaces in BioPharma™ (2022), twice as one of the “Best Places to Work” in Orange County by the Orange County Business Journal (2021, 2022) and winner of the PM360 Trailblazer Award for Best Product Launch of the Year, Urovant’s people-focused culture leads the way for innovation and impact. Learn more about Urovant at www.Urovant.com or follow on Twitter, Linked In or Instagram.

About Sumitovant Biopharma

Sumitovant is a technology-driven biopharmaceutical company accelerating development of new potential therapies for patients with high unmet medical need. Through our subsidiary portfolio and use of embedded computational technology platforms to generate business and scientific insights, Sumitovant has supported development of FDA-approved products and advanced a promising pipeline of early-through late-stage investigational assets for other serious conditions. Sumitovant’s subsidiary portfolio includes wholly-owned Enzyvant, Urovant, Spirovant and Altavant, and majority-owned Myovant (NYSE: MYOV). Sumitomo Pharma is Sumitovant’s parent company. For more information, please visit www.sumitovant.com.

UROVANT, UROVANT SCIENCES, the UROVANT SCIENCES logo are trademarks of Urovant Sciences GmbH, registered in the U.S. and in other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2022 Urovant Sciences. All rights reserved.

About Thinx

Thinx Inc. is a family of brands dedicated to creating products that support bodies from puberty to post-menopause. Together, Thinx, Thinx Teens, Thinx For All™, and Speax by Thinx is on a mission to be the most innovative leader at bringing sustainable and comfortable menstruation and incontinence products to market. We strive to deliver the safest products available and work to go beyond global regulatory requirements with our STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certification [20.HUS.04850 | HOHENSTEIN HTTI]. Our innovation has been recognized by top industry publications, including WWD, InStyle, PureWow, Cosmopolitan, and ranked #1 in 2019 for Best Period Panties by both Women’s Health Magazine and Good Housekeeping.

THINX, the THINX logo, SPEAX, and the SPEAX logo are trademarks of Thinx, Inc., registered in the U.S. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Urovant Sciences
Alana Darden Powell
Vice President, Corporate Communications
949-436-3116
alana.darden@Urovant.com
media@urovant.com

Sumitovant Biopharma
Maya Frutiger
VP, Head of Corporate Communications
media@sumitovant.com

Thinx Inc.
Felicia Macdonald
VP, Strategic Communications and Public Affairs
felicia.macdonald@shethinx.com