Takeda launches GetToKnowGERD.com

NEW YORK — Drug maker Takeda Pharmaceuticals is launching a campaign to raise awareness of gastroesophageal reflux disease, the company said Tuesday.

Takeda created the website GetToKnowGERD.com to coincide with GERD Awareness Week, which takes place from Nov. 21 to 27. The company also is using the occasion to promote the GERD drug Dexilant (dexlansoprazole).

GERD is an often chronic condition characterized by frequent heartburn that affects nearly 19 million Americans, but according to an Omnibus telephone poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted in October, around 80% of people are not aware of how common it is.