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| Welcome
to the Northbank newsletter |
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 As
we move into Summer, everyone is holding their breath
as the equity markets are showing signs of picking up
and
biotechs in particular are rallying. The BioCentury 100
was up 31% over the last three months and the highest riser
up over 500%. The
fundamentals of the sector, in terms of product news,
look positive, so provided the rally holds
up through the Summer, the prospects look good for companies
considering a fund raising. In
the US, follow-ons, bonds and PIPES are closing every
week,
whereas few European companies have, as yet, got a fund
raising away. Some commentators are even predicting a
small IPO window in the Autumn for mature product
companies. Unlike the rally of 1999/2000, product companies
are
those leading the rise, in particular in leading edge
areas of reproductive medicine, and gene and cell therapies.
Tools companies are faring less well. The impact of this
upturn will take time to feed through to the private
equity arena, and valuations and terms still remain tough.
However there is plenty of money looking for a good home,
and some €750 million of venture capital was invested
in life science companies over the past quarter alone.
For
Northbank clients, the Summer presents a good opportunity
to reassess communications budgets and strategies,
to ensure you are well placed to take advantage of the
upturn.
In a study by American
Business Media,
history has proven companies that maintain or increase
their advertising investments in periods of economic
downturn increase their sales and share of market,
both during and after the downturn. Northbank has retained
its investment in staff and marketing over the tough
period and, with our highly expert team, we are well
placed to respond rapidly to client demands. So if
we can help you get ahead through proactive and creative
communications, don't hesitate to get in touch.
Sue
Charles, CEO
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| Contents |
| Interactive CD-ROM for
KuDOS |
| New Morphochem website |
| Schroder
Ventures Life Sciences |
| Congleton
office grows |
PR
advisors to Affymetrix
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| HepCgen
identity |
| Ariana
website |
| Identity
for CRC |
| Friendly
merger article |
| CAT
poster and mailer |
| CSols
market research study |
Raising
Oxford BioMedica's profile
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| Consultants
to Medical Futures |
| Event
round-up |
| New
business wins |
| Client
round-up |
| Meet
us at |
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| In brief |
| Northbank
has been appointed as
European PR advisor to Affymetrix, Inc,
a leading global company which invented and developed
GeneChip® brand
technology. More...
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HepCgen,
a Southampton University spin-out needed to create an identity
and establish a market presence. Northbank's starter
pack was a cost-effective way to meet their requirements.
We've created their logo and are now designing their
stationery, website and PowerPoint template. More... |
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Ariana
Pharmaceuticals in Paris required a low-cost, professionally
designed website that they could easily maintain
themselves. A content management system based website was
the perfect solution. More... |
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Before
ACSC acquired CRC, they appointed Northbank to create an
identity for the combined company. As CRC already had an
international reputation as a specialist CRO, the decision
was made to change the name of the company to CRC Development
Ltd, trading as CRC. More... |
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M&A
pundits say there is no such thing as a friendly merger;
it's really a take-over in disguise, with hidden
agendas on both sides. So, win the communications battle
and you win the war. Northbank's corporate consultants
look at examples of communications strategies adopted recently
by both public and private firms in this article published
on the Nature BioEntrepreneur portal. More... |
|
Northbank's
creative team has been called upon again to put their ideas
into practice to create a series
of five posters as a novel strategy to support patient
recruitment and to design a mailer to promote a new lead
optimisation service, both for leading monoclonal antibody
company, Cambridge Antibody Technology. More... |
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CSols,
a leading provider of solutions for the effective integration
of laboratory instrumentation and LIMS (Laboratory Information
Management Systems), has chosen Northbank to conduct a
market research study to help it penetrate identified
market
niches. More...
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| Government
genetics white paper announcement provides an opportunity
to raise Oxford BioMedica's profile in gene therapy. More... |
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| Northbank
has been re-appointed as communications consultants to Medical
Futures, an initiative
formed to stimulate innovation in the medical sector. This
appointment follows a successful PR campaign by the Northbank
team around the 2002 Medical Futures Awards, which received
coverage in over 300 publications, including television, national,
trade and regional press. More... |
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| An
awards dinner, 'seriously buzzy' Bio2003 and George W Bush
feature in our conference round up
in this newsletter. In addition Northbank was the proud sponsors
of the BIT conference. More... |
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KuDOS
showcases new interactive
CD-ROM at ASCO |
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| Northbank
Communications was commissioned by KuDOS Pharmaceuticals
Ltd to design and
produce a dynamic CD-ROM to provide a multi-media journey
into DNA repair and tumour hypoxia, the Company's
key research areas for new cancer therapeutics.
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The
CD has been designed as an educational tool to increase
awareness of these key research areas, and includes an
introduction by Stephen P Jackson, Professor of Biology
at the University of Cambridge, UK, and CSO of KuDOS.
KuDOS
showcased the 'New Targets for Cancer Therapy' interactive
CD at ASCO, the American Society of Clinical Oncology's
Annual Meeting in Chicago in May. More... |
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| Upward
and homeward Northbank strengthens Congleton office |
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| Northbank
Communications' Congleton
office has been strengthened with Dr Eileen Paul, previously
Account Manager in the Munich Office, returning to the UK
in August to fill the vacancy of Account Manager in the Congleton
office and with the promotion of James Parkinson from Account
Executive
to Account Manager. More... |
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Morphochem launches new website to reflect
company's transition |
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| Northbank
Communications was commissioned by Morphochem AG, the
trans-national evolutionary
drug discovery and development company, to design and
copywrite its new website. Morphochem
urgently needed a new website that successfully reflected
its transition from a chemical technology platform company
to one
that is generating products that are approaching the clinic.
The website followed other corporate image projects including
a new corporate presentation and new factsheets.
More... |
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| Schroder
Ventures Life Sciences Fund adds to upturn in the sector |
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| Acting
as PR advisors to leading venture capitalists, Schroder Ventures
Life Sciences (SVLS), to gain media coverage for the close
of its new International Life Sciences Fund III (ILSF III)
in June, Northbank Communications was able to contribute
to increasing positive sentiment in the global life sciences
market.
More... |
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| New
business wins |
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Since
May Northbank has... been hired by HepCgen to
develop its new corporate image and website... worked
with Schroder Ventures Life Sciences on
selected PR projects... been appointed by Ariana
Pharmaceuticals to provide its new website...
worked with TechnoVenture Management (TVM) on
a selected PR project... been reappointed by Medical
Futures to provide PR support for this year's
awards ceremony.
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| Client
round-up |
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Since May
Northbank has... provided media outreach for Affymetrix surrounding
the NASDAQ, ESHG and NIH conferences... copywritten and
designed factsheets for Akubio... begun
work on the new website for ML Laboratories...
designed an advert for PathLore... been
working on a new corporate identity and website for CRC
(previously ACSC)... provided media outreach for Oxford
BioMedica surrounding the release of the genetics
white paper... begun construction of a new website for Arakis...
designed a lead optimisation flyer for CAT...
implemented Tecan's global
media campaign... handled media outreach around two press
releases for Curacyte... advised Axxima on
copy for two press releases... to give just a snapshot
of our activities...
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Meet
us at
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| In the second
half of the year members of the Northbank team
are planning to attend
the following events. Just click on the attendee if you would
like to fix up a meeting with us. Please visit our website for
updated information on events we will be attending throughout
the year. |
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Congleton
Tel:
+44 (0)1260 296500
Fax: +44 (0)1260 296501 |
London
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7886 8150
Fax: +44 (0)20 7886 8151 |
Munich
Tel:
+49 (0)89 1895 7057
Fax: +49 (0)89 1895 7361 |
| E-Mail: info@northbankcommunications.com |
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