Oxford PharmaGenesis™ is planning to open an office in London early in 2012 and we are looking for an experienced medical communications professional to play a key role in setting it up. We will be based initially in serviced offices in Paddington and will move to our own premises later in the year.

The successful candidate will work closely with existing staff members in Oxford to set up the office infrastructure, recruit a team of five over the next 3–9 months, and service existing and new accounts.

If you are interested in discussing this role, or other imminent opportunities in our London office, please contact Annie Beagent (annie.beagent@pharmagenesis.com) as soon as possible.

Closing date: Wednesday 25 January 2012.

At Oxford PharmaGenesis™ we have always taken our responsibility to patients very seriously. We work in many different disease areas and so, in the spirit of the season, we are delighted to make donations to the following local, national and international charities in recognition of the patient work they do.

Action on Hearing Loss
ALS Association Greater Philadelphia Chapter
Breathing Room Foundation
British Heart Foundation
Core
Huntington’s Disease Association
Kidney Research UK
Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre
Sir Michael Sobell House Hospice

For more details see: www.pharmagenesis.com/charity

We wish you our warmest season’s greetings and all happiness in the New Year.

Oxford PharmaGenesis™ Value Demonstration Practice is proud to be an exhibitor at this year’s ISPOR European Congress. Our expert consultants will be present throughout the meeting to demonstrate how our innovative e-media initiatives are providing enhanced Real-World Evidence insights and Value Communication strategies to our client partners.

Find out more about how we can take your brand beyond Market Access to Patient Access by visiting us at stand 72/73, or e-mail value@pharmagenesis.com to arrange a time to meet us in Madrid.

The ISPOR Annual European Congress is one of the fastest-growing meetings in the world, with abstract submissions for 2011 up 22% on last year – reflecting the growing importance of Outcomes Research and Real-World Evidence in “Rational Health Care Decision Making in Challenging Economic Times”. Click here for more information about the event.

Chris Winchester has been appointed to the European Committee of the International Society of Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP). Oxford PharmaGenesis™ has a long heritage of working with ISMPP, and Gordon Muir-Jones from our US office is a member of the Standards and Best Practices Committee, which is responsible for the Good Publication Practice guidelines (GPP-2). Chris is keen to help strengthen the presence of ISMPP in Europe, and will attend the 2011 European Meeting of ISMPP, entitled ‘Trends, Transparency, and Trust: From Insights to Actions’, to be held at Alderley Park, 15–16 November 2011.

At Oxford PharmaGenesis™, we believe that the open provision of professional medical writing support can help to ensure the timely, accurate and ethical publication of industry-sponsored research. To access our up-to-date publication policy, launched this month, please click here.

Oxford PharmaGenesis™ will be ‘raising the bar’ in medical communications at ISMPP’s 7th Annual Meeting in Arlington, VA. We have been working in collaboration with a leading pharmaceutical company to provide access to an electronic copy of their poster via QR (Quick Response) code scanning. Using a SMART phone, delegates can scan the code from the poster display and either download an electronic copy of the poster immediately or receive it via e-mail. Not only are QR codes a quick way of directing users of mobile devices to specific data or web pages but, importantly, the technology also promotes a paperless culture, allowing companies to act responsibly by reducing waste, costs and carbon footprints. To talk to a member of the Oxford PharmaGenesis™ team at ISMPP, give Gordon a call on the number below.

Gordon Muir-Jones CMPP
Executive Vice President
Cell: +1 (267) 210 9606

Give it a go yourself and see the benefits of QR technology in action! Scan the code below and visit our new eposters2u.com website. Upon entry of the password ‘oxford’, you’ll be able to download an article listing our core services and discover the key factors we believe to be at the heart of a successful client–agency partnership. If you’d like more information about our eposters2u service offering and how Oxford PharmaGenesis™ can make a difference, contact Jayne Harrison in the UK office.

Jayne Harrison
Account Director
Tel: +44 (0)1865 390144
Mobile: +44 (0)7500 957804
E-mail: jayne.harrison@pharmagenesis.com

Oxford PharmaGenesis™ was represented at the Congress by David Bennett (Business Development Manager). A summary of points based around several commonly asked questions is now available. (Click here for link)

Based on presentations and private discussion, David noted the following keenly debated questions and the points that were raised. This report does not pretend to be representative of the consensus of the delegates, but is an honest attempt to set out the issues that are being discussed by the various stakeholder organizations involved in rare and orphan disorders (ODs). You may identify many contradictions! Again, these reflect the discussions that took place.

There was a clear sense of common purpose arising from the meeting and the impetus was captured by the acknowledgement that this is a golden age of genetic discovery, with the majority of OD targets being genetic – often monogenic – diseases.

Pharma industry awareness of Oxford PharmaGenesis™ as a leading consultancy in the health economics and outcomes research (HE&OR) area is greater now than ever before, thanks to Richard White and Chris Winchester’s successful trip to the ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) 13^th Annual European Congress, held in Prague.

Far and away the hottest topic of the meeting was 'real-world effectiveness'. This was the subject of a plenary session and multiple issue workshops and discussion sessions – although all raised far more questions than they provided answers. There is no doubt that our work on patient outcomes surveys such as KIGS and KIMS, and the GAST programme with AstraZeneca, has given Oxford PharmaGenesis™ field-leading insight into the applications and pitfalls of ‘real-world’ data, and Chris and Richard are now following up several contacts for future work in this area.

ISPOR Europe is currently the fastest-growing congress in the world, reflecting the importance of HE&OR in demonstrating the value of new drugs to health technology assessment bodies (e.g. NICE), and to national and regional payers throughout the EU and beyond. Oxford PharmaGenesis™ presence at ISPOR is a key element in positioning ourselves at the heart of these changes in the pharma industry. A short leave piece summarizing our capabilities <link> was extremely well received, and a follow-up mailing is planned. Our attendance at the 2009 meeting in Paris ultimately yielded considerable new HE&OR business, and we look forward to bringing you news of similar follow-up successes over the coming months!

Oxford PharmaGenesis^™ are proud to have provided support to Darren Brinham (1st Dan) to assist him in travelling to and competing at the II Veteran EITF European Taekwon-Do Championships, in Barletta, Italy in March 2010. When he’s not training and competing, Darren undertakes some of our branding and design work. We are pleased to be able to report his medal results as follows:

• Team Sparring – gold
• Individual Patterns – gold
• Team Power – silver
• Team Patterns – bronze
• Individual Sparring – bronze.

Darren (left) at training camp with Master Andrew Whiteley (coach, 7th Dan).

Congratulations to Clin Pharm, our local 5-a-side football team, who picked up their fifth league title in February, remaining unbeaten all season. In a tense contest, they beat their closest contenders 2–0 to clinch the title in the final match.

In the spirit of the season, and instead of our usual mailing, we will make donations to several local, national and international charities.

http://www.pharmagenesis.com/charity.html

We wish you Season’s Greetings and all happiness in the New Year, and invite you to download our festive menu, selected from the Oxford PharmaGenesis™ Anniversary Recipe Book.

http://www.pharmagenesis.com/xmas.html

The second iteration of Good Publication Practice (GPP2) is about to be published. These guidelines provide insight on appropriate and ethical interactions between the pharmaceutical industry, publishers, academia and medical communications companies, with respect to good publishing practice.

Eleven years after its inception, and in such a rapidly evolving environment, Oxford PharmaGenesis™ has never been more committed to behaving ethically and responsibly at the interface between the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare. As such, representatives from our UK and US offices were invited to provide regular input and support to the development process of the guidelines. In addition, as a precursor to publication of the new guidelines, these colleagues, together with a well-known publisher, were commissioned by Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe to develop a feature article on the imminent arrival of GPP2. A copy of this article, "New Clarity" can be found here.

At Oxford PharmaGenesis™ we recognize that digital communications and social media will be important and growing parts of future pharmaceutical marketing. Chris Thomas, our Marketing Partner, appears as a guest blogger in the last week of every month on ‘Thinking Pharma’, a website that takes a thoughtful and sometimes provocative look at the digital future for pharma. See his latest blog at: http://www.thinkingpharma.com/2009/07/it-was-easy-when-i-started.html

Oxford PharmaGenesis™ was well represented at a lecture series to inaugurate Oxford’s newest college, Green Templeton. Influential speakers from pharmaceutical R&D, NICE, Oxfam and the ABPI addressed topic such as
the origins of the industry, its relationships with government and society and whether it has a healthy future. The college has brought together Green College’s medical knowledge and Templeton College’s commercial acumen
to forge a powerhouse of pharmaceutical expertise. The lectures, entitled 'Addicted to Big Pharma? Reconciling business, medical and ethical needs', can be accessed at: http://www.gtc.ox.ac.uk/academic/lectures-seminars/gtlectures/green-templeton-lectures-2009.html

New Year’s resolutions brought an influx of fresh faces to the Carswell gym – practically a branch office of
Oxford PharmaGenesis™ – where we match inspiration with perspiration, and prove that December’s gluttons become January’s gluttons for punishment.

Photos from around the world brighten our 2009 calendar. Every picture was taken by a member of staff travelling at home or abroad – on business as well as for pleasure. Never shy to show off their travels, staff competed vigorously to have their photos included. Here is the full selection of photographs, from Loch Leven to Lake Garda and from Petra to Plymouth.

The Oxford PharmaGenesis™-sponsored polo team won the sought-after Prancing Ponies trophy at Offchurch in Warwickshire. In a 2-day tournament, our gallant team overcame a handicap disadvantage to defeat Warwickshire’s best. On the first day, they beat the reigning champions 8 goals to 7 in a tough match played hard to the final whistle.

The second day saw the team take on strong opponents in the final. Neither team gave any quarter and were evenly matched almost to the end. The winner was decided only when Amy Young scored in the final minute to secure a memorable 5.5 to 5 goal victory for Oxford PharmaGenesis™.

Two dedicated Oxford PharmaGenesis™ athletes joined hundreds of other runners in the footsteps of Strauss, into the Vienna Woods. They joined the United European Gastroenterology Week Fun Run to raise money for the UK Digestive Disorders Foundation, CORE. The runners, Catherine Henderson and Chris Winchester, were the proud recipients of medals and a substantial Austrian brunch.

When Oxford PharmaGenesis™ was born, on a grey morning in 1998, none of us had any idea that 10 years later we would have formed so many deep friendships and trusting relationships with our clients and suppliers. The preparation and enjoyment of good food with family and friends are among life’s greatest pleasures. So, it seemed fitting to commemorate our anniversary with the creation of a personalized recipe book, with contributions from, and distribution to, all parts of the extended Oxford PharmaGenesis™ family.

This 122-page, hard cover, spiral-bound book contains over 100 recipes ranging from quick and simple weekday suppers to stunning dishes guaranteed to impress your dinner party guests. Additional copies were produced as part of the initial print run and are available at the run-on cost of £15 per copy plus shipping. If you would like to order a copy, please contact Jeanette Costigan on +44 (0)1865 390144 or jeanette.costigan@pharmagenesis.com