What’s New New
Healthcare-Related Products, Services, and Companies
By Carolyn Gretton
Saatchi & Saatchi Science Focuses on Complex Categories Trend: The agency’s name change reflects its vision for the future and its expertise in distilling scientific and market data into compelling brand strategy and communications solutions. Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare Innovations has become Saatchi & Saatchi Science. With a well-established foundation in insights-driven strategy and creative, the company focuses on differentiating and growing brands in highly complex categories such as oncology, molecular diagnostics, immunology, and vaccines. Saatchi & Saatchi Science has strengthened its capabilities across the board, including customer segmentation and targeting, medical strategy, data-driven marketing planning, scientific communications, multi-channel creative development, and analytics. A unit of Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG), the agency has the global resources of the PHCG network behind it, ensuring that the agency brings a true end-to-end solution to clients. “Our strategy is to go deeper with clients who require the scientific understanding of data-heavy categories combined with brand-building expertise," says Annemarie Armstrong, managing director of Saatchi & Saatchi Science. “We understand the branding of science and the science of branding. For clients with increasingly complex marketing challenges in complex therapeutic categories, you need expertise in both areas to drive interest, engagement, and growth for brands." “Saatchi & Saatchi Science gives PHCG a strong high-science offering in a creative agency," adds Sam Welch, president, PHCG North America advertising. “Integrated with the strategic, scientific, and digital capabilities of PHCG, Saatchi & Saatchi Science brings best-in-class offerings to meet the business needs of our clients." { For more information, visit saatchiscience.com. Campaign Aims to Raise Osteoporosis Awareness, Advance Prevention GSW Worldwide is partnering with the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA) to develop 2Million2Many, a national campaign aimed at raising awareness about the connection between osteoporosis and broken bones, as well as advance the NBHA’s vision to reduce the rate of osteoporosis-related breaks by 20% by 2020. The 2Million2Many campaign was created to disrupt the complacency of both consumers and healthcare professionals toward osteoporosis and specifically to activate women and men as young as 50 to get follow-up testing when they break a bone. The campaign includes print ads, a microsite at 2million2many.org, a PSA, and a documentary. Marcee Nelson, co-creator of the campaign, notes that 2 million broken bones are caused by osteoporosis each year, yet only 2 in 10 get a follow-up test or treatment for osteoporosis. “We need to help people visualize this impact and make it relevant to them now, while they can do something to prevent it," Ms. Nelson says. { For more information, visit 2million2many.org. In other news… Coherus BioSciences is a recently launched biopharmaceutical company dedicated to providing patients around the world with greater access to high-quality biosimilar therapies. Coherus begins with a pipeline of five oncology and inflammatory disease therapeutics and a business model that leverages the world-class expertise of its leadership team in creating biologics therapies through multifunctional partnerships built on shared strategic interest. One such partnership, with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, focuses on developing and commercializing biosimilar forms of two therapies in several Asian countries. “Coherus BioSciences has established an outstanding business model, a very experienced biologic development team, and outstanding capabilities," says Joji Nakayama, president and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo. “By creating an opportunity for an early entry into the biosimilars market, this agreement will strengthen our internal platform for manufacturing and developing biopharmaceuticals, leading directly to the introduction of other biosimilars therapies in the future." “The Coherus model is about collaboration and efficiency with production processes and clinical programs that are readily portable across global markets," says Coherus CEO Denny Lanfear. “That’s what is needed to deliver real solutions to 21st-century healthcare challenges." { For more information, visit coherus.com. Bioventus is a recently launched company providing active orthopedic healing through innovative and successful products to help accelerate bone healing and treat osteoarthritis pain. Bioventus was formed out of Smith & Nephew’s former biologics and clinical therapies division and includes nearly 500 U.S. employees from that group. For the time being, employees outside of the United States are remaining with Smith & Nephew, and Smith & Nephew will distribute products on behalf of Bioventus outside of the United States. The non-U.S. business will be transitioned to Bioventus over time as required legal and other approvals are obtained. “For years, patients and healthcare providers have relied on our products and our more than 250 customer-facing professionals who work directly with them to assist in providing quality care," says Mark Augusti, CEO of Bioventus. “As an independent company with the support and backing of Essex Woodlands and Smith & Nephew, we will now be able to focus attention and resources to more quickly deliver new solutions to market." Bioventus’ leadership team includes healthcare experts and experienced functional leaders, most of whom were previously with the Smith & Nephew biologics division. The team is led by Mr. Augusti, who built the Smith & Nephew biologics business. { For more information, visit bioventusglobal.com. WebMD has introduced MyTrialFinder, an innovative clinical trial patient recruitment approach that offers sponsors the opportunity to engage users when they seek out disease-specific content on WebMD. Through MyTrialFinder, a simple user experience guides potential study subjects to geographically appropriate research study listings, giving them the opportunity to complete institutional review board-approved questionnaires and have their information securely forwarded to the research study site of their choice. The service is HIPAA and Safe Harbor-compliant and Web privacy certified by TRUSTe, and all patient data transmitted or stored on WebMD’s networks and servers are encrypted. { For more information, visit webmd.com. Cambridge Healthtech Associates (CHA) has added a program of consulting and allied services dedicated to the next-generation sequencing and genomics field. CHA has already built a successful online community, NGS Leaders, which focuses on the challenges in the areas of genomics and next-generation sequencing. “The success of our NGS Leaders community identified a need for strategic consulting in the industry," observes CHA General Manager Dawn Van Dam. Spearheading the launch of the new consulting team is Kevin Davies, Ph.D., founding editor of Bio-IT World and Nature Genetics. “There have been few more disruptive technologies in the past two decades than next-generation sequencing, which is transforming basic, translational, and clinical research," Dr. Davies says. “I believe we have the technical, social, and market research know-how to help organizations chart a successful course through these rapidly changing conditions." { For more information, visit chacorporate.com. Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, a specialty healthcare product company, has changed its name to TG Therapeutics. The company is focused on developing and commercializing innovative treatments for underserved patient populations. The company’s lead product, ublituximab, is a third-generation chimeric monoclonal antibody being developed in multiple oncology and autoimmune indications. { For more information, visit tgtxinc.com. AROUND THE GLOBE AB Sciex, a global provider of life-science analytical technologies, has expanded commercial operations in Brazil to support the Brazilian scientific community’s increasing use of mass spectrometry for food safety testing, environmental analysis, academic research, drug development, forensic toxicology, and clinical research. { For more information, visit absciex.com. Anaphore has acquired Shanghai-based RuiYi Inc., giving the company a powerful biologics drug discovery platform focused on the discovery and development of therapies targeting G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). The acquisition also allows Anaphore to access substantial scientific expertise, capital, and potential new collaboration opportunities in the Chinese pharmaceutical marketplace. { For more information, visit anaphore.com. Bristol-Myers Squibb is funding research efforts at Beijing-based Tsinghua University’s School of Life Sciences to identify and validate novel targets in oncology and immunoscience. The multiyear partnership between Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tsinghua University also focuses on structural biology research, the science of mapping the 3D protein structure of biological molecular targets that could serve as the basis for future drug discovery projects. In other moves, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has expanded its Together on Diabetes initiative to China and India, pledging $15 million over five years to help these developing nations with rapidly growing numbers of type 2 diabetes patients. { For more information, visit bms.com. Healthcare market research provider Cegedim Strategic Data (CSD) has opened a local office in Jakarta, Indonesia, a key growing market in the Asia Pacific region. CSD already has a strong presence in the region, with local offices in China, Australia, India, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. { For more information, visit cegedimstrategicdata.com. Global CRO Chiltern International has established a new entity in Taiwan. The effort is led by Umakanta Sahoo, Ph.D., Chiltern’s executive director, Asia Pacific, and managing director, India. { For more information, visit chiltern.com. Drug development services provider Covance and BML, a Japanese laboratory testing company, have expanded their Covance-BML clinical trial laboratory in Kawagoe, Japan, to enhance the capacity and capabilities in the region. The companies, which opened the lab together in 2010 as part of a five-year agreement, plan to launch several expansion-related services. { For more information, visit covance.com. Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai is expanding the geographical reach of its European headquarters, based in Hatfield, United Kingdom, to support the company’s growing European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) business. As part of the move, Gary Hendler has been named president and CEO of the EMEA region. Also as part of its EMEA efforts, Eisai has opened a regional representative office in Dubai. { For more information, visit eisai.com. Everist Genomics (EGI) has established a joint-venture company with Manipal Group to market EGI’s portfolio of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic selection technologies in India. In addition to its cardiovascular franchise, the joint venture will also commercialize EGI’s companion diagnostics and prognostics portfolio for cancer, a unique combination of four molecular assays designed to help physicians personalize treatment for cancer patients. { For more information, visit everistgenomics.com. Genzyme has received approvals from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to expand its Waterford, Ireland, manufacturing plant, almost doubling its ability to fill and finish Myozyme and Lumizyme produced at the 4,000-liter bioreactor scale. Genzyme’s long-term goal is to use the Waterford site as a filling and finishing platform across its portfolio of products. { For more information, visit genzyme.com. Kantar Health, a healthcare-focused global consultancy and marketing insights company, has announced the expansion of its National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) into Russia. NHWS is a global database of self-reported patient insights in the healthcare industry. By collecting data directly from Russian patients, NHWS can help companies gain an understanding of the Russian healthcare market and how Russian patients differ from patients worldwide. { For more information, visit kantarhealth.com. McCann Healthcare Worldwide Japan (MHWWJ) has created MDS-CMG, a Japanese healthcare communications company and provider of scientific content across all therapeutic areas. The new business entity has been formed through the acquisition of a 51% interest in MDS Co. Ltd. Kazuko Oneda, former head of MDS, continues as president of MDS-CMG. { For more information, visit mccann.com. NSF-DBA, an NSF International Health Sciences company, has signed a collaborative agreement with Semler Research Center (SRC) of Bangalore to expand pharmaceutical training, auditing, consulting, and testing services throughout India. NSF-DBA is working with SRC to harmonize consulting and auditing practices and standards, as well as train SRC staff to deliver NSF-DBA training courses. { For more information, visit nsf.org. Healthcare communications agency Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide has relaunched its Toronto-based Ogilvy Healthworld office under the Ogilvy CommonHealth name. Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, a WPP company, houses and maintains individual Ogilvy CommonHealth and Ogilvy Healthworld brand identities within the marketplace. { For more information, visit ogilvychww.com. Pfizer Canada and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) have established the Pfizer-CCRM Innovation Fund to accelerate regenerative medicine technologies for drug screening and therapeutic applications. The fund’s goal is to support development projects that boost innovation in the growing field of stem cells and biomaterials-based products. { For more information, visit pfizer.ca. PRA has expanded it CRO operations in Utrecht, The Netherlands, to accommodate staff growth and strong client demand for its Phase IIa-IIIb service offerings. Staff from PRA’s three existing Netherlands locations support early development and lab studies. { For more information, visit praintl.com. ON THE SHELVES Barnett International has released a number of updates to its catalogue of R&D reference books. The 2012 cFR/ICH Good Clinical Practice Reference GUIDE for Drugs includes the latest codes and regulations affecting pharmaceutical good clinical practice. The updated edition includes information on regulations regarding notifications of drug shortages and/or manufacturing changes that could lead to drug shortages. Barnett’s 2012 CFR GUIDE FOR MEDICAL DEVICES is designed specifically for clinical and regulatory professionals in the medical device and combination product industries. The updated guide provides critical information needed to stay current with the medical device and combination product industry’s codes and regulations. Updates to the 2012 print and electronic editions of the GCP QUESTION & ANSWER REFERENCE GUIDE include the addition of an expert advisory panel, numerous new Q&As addressing emerging topics such as the new risk-based approach to monitoring clinical trials, and new changes and information to be provided in informed consent documents. The new edition also features updates reflecting the latest FDA guidances, regulations, comments, and developments, as well as revised and updated sections on GCP compliance and clinical trial requirements in a number of global regions outside the United States. Barnett’s revised and updated GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICES: GUIDE TO COMPLIANCE provides clear recommendations for performing chemistry, manufacturing, and control activities according to 21 CFR210 and 211, ICHQ7, and Annex 13. The guide is available in print and electronic formats and includes templates for standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other forms that can be copied and used directly in the manuf cturing environment, including a full set of GMP inspection sheets. { For more information, visit barnettinternational.com. The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) has published FROM ALZHEIMER’S TO ZEBRAFISH: ECLECTIC SCIENCE AND REGULATORY STORIES, a collection of articles from Regulatory Focus and other publications written by pharmacist and seasoned regulatory expert Max Sherman. The book covers a range of diverse and occasionally unusual subjects related to the practice of medicine, medical research, regulatory issues, biology, chemistry, and other related disciplines. Some of Mr. Sherman’s articles address business and management issues associated with the regulatory profession, but most provide an in-depth look at subjects as varied as Alzheimer’s disease and zebrafish. Each offers unique insight and brings to light facts with which most readers are unfamiliar, even on seemingly common topics. { For more information, visit raps.org. In his latest book, BIOTECH 2012: INNOVATING IN THE NEW AUSTERITY, Burrill & Company CEO G. Steven Burrill observes that biotech companies not only need innovative products, they need innovation in the way they fund ideas, conduct R&D, address regulation, and deliver care. Mr. Burrill cites the main challenges faced by the biotech industry as effective leveraging of resources, operating with capital efficiency, and delivering value. Despite the climate of austerity, the industry can’t afford to be timid in its thoughts and actions, he cautions. { For more information, visit burrillandco.com.
