Microsoft word - 100518 mg risperdal consta appointment final.docx

Press Release
June 2010 – for immediate release
Virgo HEALTH and Open Road to support Janssen’s Risperdal Consta in the UK
Virgo HEALTH has been appointed by Janssen-Cilag to deliver an integrated PR and PA programme in conjunction with PA partner Open Road to support Risperdal Consta in the UK. Since the recent appointment of Mark Lloyd Davies as Head of Government Affairs and Communications at Janssen-Cilag, there has been a renewed energy and focus on communications activities. This has led to an internal and external review of the function resulting in a number of pitches of which the Risperdal Consta was one. “We recognise the significant role that communications and government affairs can play in terms of a company’s reputation and profile. We are delighted to be working with Virgo given their wealth of experience in mental health, and with Open Road, given their growing reputation in the healthcare environment. We feel that Virgo and Open Road’s values and approach are very much aligned with the way we want to work and we are looking forward to a successful partnership going forward,” said Mark Lloyd Davies, Head of Government Affairs and Communications at Janssen-Cilag. Virgo HEALTH director, Meredith Guest, who will lead the account team said, “There are unique challenges associated with communications around mental health with expectations around treatment and staying well constantly evolving. We are incredibly excited about working with the team at Janssen-Cilag as they continue to deliver innovative treatments to advance the care of people with severe mental illness.” Open Road Chief Executive, Graham McMillan, said, “The recent general election, and the continuing challenges to the NHS budget, could spark significant changes in mental health policy over the course of the new Parliament. We look forward to helping the team at Janssen-Cilag to navigate this changing environment and to working with them and our partners at Virgo HEALTH to engage with stakeholders from across the spectrum on the issues connected with severe mental illness.” For more than 50 years, Janssen-Cilag has pioneered new treatments for mental illness that have revolutionised schizophrenia management and transformed the lives of thousands of patients. Notes to Editors
Virgo HEALTH was formed in July 2003 by Angie Wiles and Sarah Matthew. Across three core business offers – PR, Health Education and Public Affairs – Virgo HEALTH provides the full range of services in healthcare communications. This is complemented by Virgo VANTAGE, which offers strategic and corporate reputation consultancy. Open Road was established in January 2007 by Graham McMillan, Martin Le Jeune, Nick DeLuca and Victoria Tate, and is now 13 people strong. We offer strategic public affairs, corporate communications and corporate responsibility services to clients from across the commercial spectrum. Our growing healthcare public affairs practice includes Graham McMillan, Jessica Frost, Nicolas Lehmann and Emma Haselhurst, who recently joined the company from Weber Shandwick.

For Further Information:
Virgo HEALTH, 1 Indigo House, Holbrooke Place, Richmond TW10 6UD
Sarah Matthew: [email protected] Angie Wiles: [email protected] Open Road, Golden Cross House, 8 Duncannon Street, London, WC2N 4JF Tel: 020 7484 5374 www.theopen-road.com Graham McMillan: [email protected] Jessica Frost: [email protected]

Source: http://www.virgohealth.com/pdf/Virgo_health_and_Open_Road_to_support_Janssens_Risperdal_Consta_in_the_UK.pdf