Sanofi /
Ensuring everyone with COPD can Breathe Equal
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the UK’s most prevalent and underdiagnosed chronic conditions, affecting over a million people and costing the NHS billions. Yet access to diagnosis, treatment and specialist care varies drastically by postcode – with some of the worst outcomes concentrated in the most deprived communities.
Working with Sanofi, our goal was to expose these inequalities, equip healthcare professionals to advocate locally and push national policymakers to prioritise change – aligning with NHS commitments to shift care closer to home.
1 in 20
live with diagnosed COPD
£2.5bn
cost to the NHS annually by 2030
5th
deadliest disease in the UK
The work
We delivered a national COPD roadshow in partnership with Asthma + Lung UK, engaging with clinicians across four UK cities. We built a new community of healthcare professionals and equipped them to advocate locally with NHS leaders and MPs. Their insights shaped our Breathe Equal report, which we launched in Parliament alongside an illustrated animation by WA’s Creative team. This brought the Sanofi brand to life and made the experiences of patients more accessible to policymakers.
We engaged MPs on the national policy changes that need to be made to the ‘hub and spoke model’ to support people with COPD to receive the care they need closer to home, in line with Government commitments in the 10-Year plan for Health. We also emboldened key parliamentary advocates to take action on respiratory health, with COPD as a priority discussion point. To support these conversations, we created a COPD datamap showing the burden of the condition in each constituency, demonstrating inequalities in outcomes.
Our achievements
We built a strong platform for change – creating over 100 HCP policy champions. The Breathe Equal report and implementation of recommendations secured strong parliamentary support, with it being referenced in parliamentary debates and through wider actions.
Our constituency-level data tools and animation sparked powerful conversations with policymakers about COPD inequalities, driving engagement with dozens of MPs. The campaign helped raise COPD up the political and policy agenda, align with the NHS 10-Year Plan, and advocate for a shift to care closer to home. Crucially, it amplified the voices of patients and made the case for earlier diagnosis and quicker access to care where and when it’s needed most.