GSK Completes Global Media Review, Awards Media Business to Omnicom's PHD and Mediacom

Pharma and consumer-health giant GlaxoSmithKline has awarded its £1.1 billion global media agency account and planning business to incumbent agencies PHD and MediaCom.

The global account includes Novartis vaccine business, which GSK bought from its rival pharma company in March as part of a wider deal for $5.25 billion.

Novartis Acquires Rights to GSK's Ofatumumab Drug For Multiple Sclerosis Treatment
The Swiss pharma will handle the worldwide development and commercialization of the drug - Ofatumumab - for use in multiple sclerosis, sources said.

MediaCom is expected to retain the European element of the global media account, while PHD will retain the US business. The final discussions are still underway. The account is estimated to be worth $1.7 billion (£1.1 billion).

Novartis selected Publicis Groupe’s Startcom MediaVest won $600 million global media account in December 2011 but withdrew from this summer’s consolidated review.

The Novartis media account is believed to not include Sandoz, the generic pharmaceuticals division of Novartis.

GSK�s Melanoma Pill Gets NICE Nod
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in UK has recommended the drug.

GSK consolidated the bulk of its global media buying and planning account two years ago with WPP media agency network GroupM and Omnicom’s PHD.

Source-Medindia

GSK Encounters Initial Resistance Following Directional Shift, Says GlobalData Analyst
GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) is realigning its operating structure with its corporate objectives and cashing in on its assets.

GSK Researcher Says Ebola Vaccine Will Not be Available Before Late 2016
A researcher with the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline says that an Ebola vaccine may not be ready for commercial use until late 2016.