2021: The Year of Adaptation and Solutions

As each year comes to a close, I always make it a point to take time to reflect on the highs and lows, what surprised me and most importantly, key learnings that I plan to take into the new year, as we continue to evolve as a team at ALK and provide new solutions to the patients we serve.?

After much thought and contemplation, two major themes stood out in my mind from 2021 – adapting and finding solutions. As the world continued to be impacted by COVID, we all adapted quickly and powered through the obstacles, to find solutions across every industry, as well as, in our own personal lives.?

In the healthcare industry, patient care adapted to accommodate the needs and safety of patients, now more than ever. According to the CDC, telehealth appointments increased 154% in 2021[1]. On the treatment side, collaborations were formed, and science was shared to drive vaccine solutions quicker than ever before. The work is not done, but healthcare innovation has made major strides, which has truly inspired me to believe in the ability of creativity to overcome all of mankind’s challenges.

At ALK, I am so proud of our teams who pressed on to help allergy specialists find solutions for patients through our at-home allergy treatment option, allergy immunotherapy (AIT), that may fit better into the lifestyles and schedules of patients who are managing through a pandemic, and so much more. Other ways we continued to find patient solutions include:

• Receiving U.S. FDA approval to treat pediatric patients who suffer from ragweed allergies
• Continuing to raise awareness of penicillin allergies and the importance of confirming if you are truly allergic, as well as the risks and watch outs when not being treated with penicillin?
• Investing in a first-of-its-kind ear drop for patients who received ear tubes and have acute otitis externa (AOE) infections, also known as “swimmer’s ear”

As we head into 2022, I am hopeful and energized that the new year will bring us novel ways to better serve allergic patients. At ALK, we plan to continue our collaborations with our physician partners to find better ways of helping patients be their own best health advocates and engage in their treatment options.

[1] Koonin LM, Hoots B, Tsang CA, et al. Trends in the Use of Telehealth During the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January–March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1595–1599. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6943a3