WebMD Introduces New Allergy App

The WebMD Allergy App is the first free app to provide allergy sufferers with personalized weather-related allergy information that empowers consumers to take control of their allergies. WebMD Allergy also delivers customized health and wellness information to consumers looking to identify and manage seasonal, food, skin, drug, insect bites or stings, and latex allergies. It also tracks allergies for multiple family members, so parents can take an active role in managing their children’s allergies. The app is available for free on iTunes. Detailed information is available at www.webmd.com/allergy-app.

 GlaxoSmithKline & Biological E’s Joint Venture

GSK and Biological E will form a joint venture to develop a combination pediatric vaccine to protect children in India and other developing countries from polio and other infectious diseases. The liquid vaccine is designed to enable fewer injections and improve compliance in immunization schedules. Both companies will finance the development costs 50/50 for the candidate vaccine, which is expected to enter Phase I development in the next two years. The venture is expected to be completed in 2013.

PharmaNet/i3 Renamed

PharmaNet/i3, a clinical research organization (CRO) offering Phase I-IV clinical development and clinical staffing services, will be renamed inVentiv Health Clinical. inVentiv Health Clinical is the clinical business segment of inVentiv Health, Inc., a provider of clinical, commercial and consulting services to the healthcare industry. “Renaming ourselves inVentiv Health Clinical demonstrates a company-wide commitment to our clinical clients, who will benefit from seamless, global access to a more robust range of services,” says Paul Meister, inVentiv Health’s CEO. Former Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. CEO, Raymond Hill, will lead the CRO.

Publicis Group to Create Digital Network

Paris-based Publicis Groupe will merge its agencies, Digitas and LBi to form DigitasLBi, a fully integrated global digital agency network. Digitas and LBi share strong capabilities in digital disciplines, and will provide clients with expertise in strategy and analytics, performance marketing, service design, e-commerce, brand strategy, content development, mobile, market research, CRM, search and social media. The new digital network’s proprietary technology suite will include LBi’s Audience Engagement Platform as well as Digitas’ CRM365 Intelligence Platform, BrandLIVE. Luke Taylor has been appointed DigitasLBi’s Global CEO.

Palio and Ignite Health Unite

inVentiv Health’s communication agencies, Palio and Ignite Health have joined forces to become Palio+Ignite. Palio+Ignite is an advertising agency focused on bringing brands and people together and infusing personality and simplicity back into the art of pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing. Palio+Ignite’s President, Mike Myers says, “Palio+Ignite represents the future of how consumers will engage with brands, and it is our role to help our clients connect with and engage their audiences across the platforms in which they live, work and play.” According to Myers, the inspiration behind the merger was not only to shape the future of healthcare, but also support the vision of inVentiv Health.

The MSL Society’s Inaugural Global Conference & Gala

The Medical Science Liaison Society is the first nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the global Medical Science Liaison (MSL) profession. The society serves as a voice for the profession by building further awareness of the important contributions that MSLs make in advancing science to ultimately improve the quality of life for patients. The MSL Society is having its first conference on April 1-3 in Philadelphia as an extension of its mission to bring together the best resources through education, knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer networking. For more info, visit bit.ly/MSLSociety.

 Lippincott’s Nursing Advisor Updated

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), a global provider of information and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry, has added two key features to their Nursing Advisor, an online clinical decision-support solution used by nurses in hospitals and other healthcare institutions. One feature is the Drug Identifier, which covers thousands of drugs organized by multiple descriptive attributes to enable fast, accurate identification of patients’ unlabeled medications. The other is the Drug Interactions Guide, which enables nurses to look up interactions information for a single drug or between two or more specified drugs.

Armada Healthcare Launches Specialty Pharmacy Association

Armada Healthcare, the industry’s largest specialty pharmacy group purchasing and contracting organization, will launch the Specialty Pharmacy Association (SPAARx), a national organization representing the professional and business interests of the specialty pharmacy industry. This organization is being formed in response to overwhelming requests from stakeholders to fill this need in the healthcare marketplace. The official launch of SPAARx will occur at the 9th Annual Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit, which is scheduled for the week of May 6th in Las Vegas.

Ogilvy CommonHealth’s Parsippany Office Rebrands

Ogilvy CommonHealth Consumer Care and Ogilvy CommonHealth Insights & Analytics has rebranded as Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing and Ogilvy CommonHealth Behavioral Insights, respectively. Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing highlights the group’s increased focus on helping brands become an integral part of consumers’ and patients’ lives for healthier living. Ogilvy CommonHealth Behavioral Insights focuses on their expertise in observational and behavioral research.

Sanofi US Launches Breakthrough Technology

LeGoo is a biopolymer gel which is injected into a blood vessel and forms a plug that molds to the shape of the vessel, stopping blood flow temporarily during surgery without the use of clamps, elastic loops or other conventional occlusion devices. The plug dissolves spontaneously in about 15 minutes or by cooling the vessel directly through ice application or cold saline infusion, which restores blood flow. Sanofi acquired Pluromed in March 2012, the company that invented LeGoo, to add to its biosurgery portfolio and support its commitment to develop innovative surgical device techniques to help patients live longer, healthier lives.

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