The Summer and early Autumn months have seen the successful close of private financings for a number of Northbank’s clients – namely Axxima Pharmaceuticals, Morphochem and Xantos BioMedicine in Germany and Solexa in the UK. For Axxima, Northbank had played a central role in drafting their business plan. M&A was also in the cooler autumn wind, with Solexa announcing a proposed merger with Lynx Therapeutics and DRI being acquired by Invitrogen. Whilst the main markets remain closed for the present time, recent weeks have seen several flotations on London’s Alternative Investment Market, providing a route to institutional funds for smaller biotechs. In response, Northbank has expanded its media relations and private equity support service with the appointment of Emma Palmer (see below) to head its financial public relations and investor relations (PR and IR) practice. Together with our design services, this enables Northbank to provide fully integrated communications services for its clients.
Sue Charles, CEO

Success for Genomes to Systems conference

‘Genomes to Systems’, the second conference held by the Consortium for Post-Genome Science, consolidated its step from a regional academic symposium into a major event that attracted more than 500 experts in post-genome science from around the world. The conference was held on 1 – 3 September at the International Convention Centre in Manchester (UK) and its success illustrates the importance of the growing field of systems biology, the fundamental understanding and modelling of complexity in living systems.

The organisation and logistics of the three day event was managed by Northbank with a new commercial focus through Supplier Exhibition and Company Showcase sessions. One Events, Northbank’s event management partner, collaborated to ensure the smooth running of the day-to-day activities, culminating in a great evening affair to facilitate networking. Northbank’s proactive media strategy, which included securing deals with Nature, Biotechniques and Science, proved effective in attracting a record number of delegates this year and the feedback from exhibitors, delegates and speakers has been so encouraging that the Consortium is already planning an event for the forthcoming year.

The Consortium, the organiser of the event, is a cross-institutional initiative designed to accelerate developments in post-genome science and technology. Prof. Andrew Cossins, Chairman of the Consortium, was delighted with the overwhelming success of the conference and said, “The success of the meeting was indicated by the extremely high quality of speakers, the spirited discussions and the commercial interest from leading suppliers in post-genome technology. The overwhelmingly positive feedback has encouraged us to carry on the momentum and begin organising the next Consortium Conference in May 2006.”  View case study

Northbank Communications expands its financial PR and IR services
Northbank has announced that it has appointed Emma Palmer as Associate Director with responsibility for growing Northbank’s reputation and client base in financial PR and IR activities.
Full press release

T SPOT TB – In the spotlight

When Oxford Immunotec’s innovative T SPOT diagnostic technology recently obtained regulatory approval in Europe for its use in testing TB infection, Northbank was commissioned to generate widespread coverage of the launch of the revolutionary test.

With only two weeks’ turnaround time, Northbank planned a campaign which targeted national broadcast and print media, creating anticipation of the integration of the new test into healthcare systems and a foundation upon which Oxford Immunotec’s direct sales team could build solid revenue.

A joint statement issued by prominent healthcare organisations heightened interest in TB and, in order to capitalise on this to maximum effect, Northbank issued invitations to the product launch briefing the next day.

Integral to the campaign was a press briefing, which was held at the British Medical Association and was attended by three television crews, national and newswire journalists. A producer for ITV news commented that the launch was “very professionally done”. Broadcast coverage included BBC Breakfast News, Sky News, and ITV Granada and the launch was covered in most of the UK national newspapers including the Times, Financial Times, Guardian and Evening Standard.

Dr Peter Wrighton-Smith, CEO of Oxford Immunotec, was exceptionally pleased with the results, adding that, “Northbank worked extremely hard against very tight deadlines. Within two weeks they pulled together an extremely well organised press briefing, securing the support of several key spokespeople and obtaining wide-spread media interest. This was an extremely good start to our marketing campaign for the T SPOT-TB test.”  View case study

Capacity to increase sales enquiries

Northbank’s design and account team worked closely with Cobra Biomanufacturing’s senior management to develop a new corporate advert. The advert was rolled out into GEN and the Bioprocessing Journal in June this year. Since its debut, Cobra’s North American sales team has attributed a four-fold increase in sales enquiries to the advert. View case study

Northbank sponsors ABSW handbook

Based on its close relationship with the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), Northbank was delighted to sponsor the 2004 members’ handbook, published once every two years. Northbank produced and designed the handbook and project managed its publication.

In order to offset the printing and mailing costs of the handbook, Northbank successfully attracted organisations such as AstraZeneca, Medical Research Council, Nature Publishing Group, Society of Chemical Industry, Agricultural Biotechnology Council and the Coalition for Medical Progress to advertise. Pallab Ghosh, chairman of the ABSW and BBC science correspondent said, "The members' handbook was simply stunning. Natasha Looder who edited the handbook for the ABSW said that the Northbank team was 'lovely and a dream to work with'. I've received nothing but high praise from our members who are impressed by the sheer professionalism of the handbook."

As part of its sponsorship, Northbank negotiated a few copies of the ABSW handbook. If you are interested in receiving a copy please email j.lewis@northbankcommunications.com to place your request. There are a limited number of copies and as such, availability is on a selected basis only.

New website launch

To coincide with Evolutec announcing its intention to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), Northbank met a very tight deadline, by working closely with Evolutec’s management team, to produce and launch the Company’s new website. Evolutec is a biopharmaceutical company that isolates molecules from the saliva of ticks, which contain an array of molecules that suppress mammalian immune responses. These molecules are being developed for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The goal of the new website was to accurately reflect the Company’s current status and provide information for investors/shareholders and business partners. View case study

Northbank replaces umbrellas with a cheque for charity ... as winners of the t-shirt competition

You may have thought the Northbank team were looking a little trimmer on the conference curcuit recently. You would be right, as the team was busy training for the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge Race, set to take place on Wednesday, 7th July. Although only 5km in length, the team, which included Katja Stout, Douglas Pretsell and Rebecca Todd, was determined to complete the race in a competitive time and dressed in style. Our creative studio designed Northbank’s individual entry for the t-shirt competition and scooped the first prize as the winning design (click here for the competition results). This resulted in £300 being donated to charity on behalf of Northbank. Even though the race was called off only for the fourth time in its 28-year history due to gale force winds and rain, Northbank was left with the feel-good factor of having helped the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, our charity of choice. Watch this space for JP Morgan 2005! www.jpmorganchasecc.com