Campaign Transforms 6 Minutes of Despair for PAH Patients into 6 Minutes of Positivity

PAH (Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension) is a fatal rare disease that makes it difficult for oxygen to be properly distributed throughout the body, causing patients to feel short of breath, even when walking. Whilst PAH can’t be cured, it can be treated. To optimise treatment, the patient's condition is monitored regularly through the ‘6-minute walk test’. This test is mandatory for the provision of treatment, however it is a suffocating, desperate and lonely process that reminds patients of their fatal destiny, and some patients are reluctant or even refuse to take the test. Janssen Pharmaceutical, which provides treatment drugs for PAH, decided to stand up to the situation to provide a solution beyond medicine.

McCann Health Japan's '6 Minutes Together' is an original music playlist designed together with a PAH specialist, aiming to transform the 6 minutes of despair into 6 minutes of positivity. In collaboration with Spotify, forty artists in Japan and around the world have offered their 6-minute songs. Every song has the exact beats per minute (BPM) to match patients’ walking speed. The playlist also includes a 6-minute original audio recording of medical tips for PAH patients by a PAH specialist, Professor Tamura. The playlist also gained endorsement by one of Japan’s most well-known artists, Yo Hitoto, who wrote a new song, "6 Minutes" for PAH patients specially in the playlist. 

Since launch on April 22, 2021, the campaign gained 118M media impressions, which is unprecedented for rare disease campaigns, and was covered by more than 80 media outlets, including all of Japan’s top outlets such as Yahoo News and Lines, and music trade publication Billboard.  

6 Minute Together is already inspiring patients around the world, but could have even bigger impact. As PAH is a disease with low awareness, it took approximately 3.5 years until a patient could be diagnosed. It was common for patients to be diagnosed after the disease had progressed significantly. PAH specialists have high hopes that "6 Minutes Together" will promote early diagnosis to allow earlier intervention.

Yo Hitoto “6 Minutes” music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4yfL51JtLg&t=0s