Publicis picks up Sanofi vaccines PR

Medical Marketing and Media,  Mar 2007  by Arnold, Matthew

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SANOFI PASTEUR has handed the communications business on several key vaccines, including the prospective launch of Pentacel, to Publicis Public Relations.

The move, first reported in PRWeek, follows a three-month, four-way review. Pentacel and Adacel will be handled jointly by Publicis' MS&L and Publicis Consultants PR.

Five-in-one Pentacel, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio and flu in children, got the green light from an FDA advisory panel in January, and is expected to win approval this month. The vaccine would mean fewer shots for infants and children under 18 months-from the current 23 to 18.

"We believe the marketplace is interested in combination vaccines because of all the vaccines on children's schedules," Sanofi Pasteur PR manager Susan Watkins told PKWeek. "We are looking forward to hearing from the FDA, and Publicis will be helping us along the way."

Adacel, approved in 2005, protects adults and adolescents against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.

While infants are particularly vulnerable to pertussis-commonly called whooping cough cases have been on the rise among adolescents and adults in recent years, with infections occurring as childhood immunizations wear off. -MA

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