Creative Lynx to work on Novartis transplantation brands

Novartis has awarded advertising accounts for its ophthalmology and transplantation portfolios to Manchester-based advertising agency Creative Lynx.

The pharma company held competitive pitches for the accounts requiring participating agencies to produce concept work for its ophthalmic product Visudyne and its transplantation drug Myfortic.

Creative Lynx was pitching for the transplantation account against the incumbent PBC and one other agency and for the ophthalmology account, for which there was no existing agency, against two other agencies.

Creative Lynx healthcare director David Whittingham, said: "In both cases we had to show that we could deliver strategically, that we understood their marketplace and how their brands would move forward and that we could commercially deliver on the accounts."

The agency will provide Novartis with a full range of creative work, including advertising, marketing and promotional materials, educational items, and new media support as part of the accounts.

Novartis' current transplantation portfolio includes Myfortic, Neoral and Simulect.

Neoral is its biggest selling transplantation product and its fifth biggest- selling product overall in 2004 with worldwide sales of approximately $1 billion.

Novartis' transplantation pipeline includes promising molecules in development including a new drug for the prevention of organ rejection, Certican, which has been filed with US regulators.

In ophthalmology the company hopes to file its new age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatment Lucentis with European regulators in 2006.

In the medium to longer term, Novartis will also file for a new indication for Sandostatin LAR, in diabetic eye disease, and a new topical indication for the immunosuppressant treatment Elidel. Novartis' current ophthalmics portfolio includes Visudyne, Viscotears, Voltarol Ophtha and Vitalux Plus. The two portfolio account wins will be the first time Creative Lynx has worked with Novartis. Creative Lynx also recently landed an international brand revitalisation account from AstraZeneca for its breast cancer treatment Arimidex.

Arimidex recently received UK approval for post-surgery use to help older women fight tumours.

The extended approval means more women whose cancer is fuelled by the hormone oestrogen - about 75% of postmenopausal women - will be eligible to receive Arimidex.