COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- GSW Worldwide, an inVentiv Health company and one of the largest healthcare advertising agencies in the world, has been named agency of record for telavancin in the United States. Telavancin is a novel lipoglycopeptide injectable antibiotic currently being evaluated in Phase 3 studies for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP). Discovered by Theravance Inc., telavancin is being co-developed worldwide (except Japan) through a collaboration established between Theravance and Astellas Pharma Inc.
Once approved by the FDA, GSW Worldwide will provide a broad range of strategic marketing and promotional services for telavancin in the US. The account will be based in GSW Worldwide’s Columbus office.
“We look forward to being an integral part of the telavancin marketing team,” said Joe Daley, president of GSW Worldwide’s Columbus operations. “We are excited to work on this new potential treatment option, as it puts GSW Worldwide on the front lines of an increasingly urgent public health threat.”
“In the past couple of years we have formed a great relationship with Astellas in the US,” said Blane Walter, president of inVentiv Communications. “We are very pleased to expand our existing relationship with Astellas and begin a new relationship with Theravance.”
“We are excited to work with GSW Worldwide on the marketing initiatives,” said David Brinkley, senior vice president, commercial development at Theravance. “They are an excellent cultural fit with our organization and they share our focus of creating powerful brands.”
“When looking for an advertising agency to support our commercialization efforts for telavancin in the US, GSW Worldwide provided us with the most creative and strategic solutions to our marketing needs,” said Rick White, vice president marketing and sales at Astellas Pharma US, Inc. “The breadth of their strategic capabilities and patient-oriented focus fits well with the opportunities afforded to healthcare providers by such an innovative new product introduction.”
About Theravance Inc.
Headquartered in South San Francisco, Calif., Theravance is a biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of internally discovered product candidates. Theravance is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule medicines across a number of therapeutic areas including respiratory disease, bacterial infections and gastrointestinal motility dysfunction. By leveraging its proprietary insight of multivalency to drug discovery focused on validated targets, Theravance is pursuing a next generation drug discovery strategy designed to discover superior medicines in large markets. For more information, please visit the company’s web site at http://www.theravance.com.
About Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Astellas Pharma US, Inc., located in the U.S., is an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. The organization is committed to becoming a global pharmaceutical company by combining outstanding R&D and marketing capabilities and continuing to grow in the world pharmaceutical market. For more information about Astellas Pharma US, Inc., please visit the company’s web site at http://www.astellas.com/us.
About GSW Worldwide
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, GSW Worldwide is one of the largest healthcare advertising agencies in the world with offices in 13 major global markets. Named 2006 “Most Creative Agency” by Med Ad News, GSW Worldwide provides liberating ideas(SM) that generate new energy around products, build stronger connections with customers and create leadership brands. For more information about GSW Worldwide, please go to http://www.gsw-w.com.
About inVentiv Health
inVentiv Health is the leading provider of commercialization and complementary services to the global pharmaceutical, life sciences and biotechnology industries. inVentiv delivers its customized clinical, sales, marketing and communications solutions through its three core business segments: inVentiv Clinical, inVentiv Communications and inVentiv Commercial. inVentiv Health currently works with over 175 unique pharmaceutical, biotech and life sciences clients, including all top 20 global pharmaceutical companies. For more information, visit http://www.inventivhealth.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks that may cause Ventiv Health’s performance to differ materially. Such risks include, without limitation: changes in trends in the pharmaceutical industry or in pharmaceutical outsourcing; our ability to compete successfully with other services in the market; our ability to maintain large client contracts or to enter into new contracts; and, our ability to operate successfully in new lines of business. Readers of this press release are referred to documents filed from time to time by Ventiv Health, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further discussion of these and other factors.
GSW Worldwide
CONTACT: Media: Marcia Frederick of inVentiv Communications, inChord,+1-614-543-6281, mfrederick@inventivhealth.com; or Investor: FeliciaVonella of inVentiv Health, Inc., +1-212-308-7155,fvonella@inventivhealth.com, both for GSW Worldwide
