RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- MedThink Communications, an innovator in medical communications, brand development, advertising and public relations, has been retained by Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc, in Morrisville to launch and promote its newest product under development, an orally disintegrating form of metoclopramide.
Salix recently licensed the rights to market the orally disintegrating metoclopramide tablet and will bring the drug to market following approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
MedThink's team of communication professionals will initiate a branding and promotional campaign that includes logo design, an advertising campaign, promotional material and public relations strategies. The medical communications team at MedThink will educate scientific and professional audiences through peer-reviewed manuscripts, abstracts and posters.
"We felt that MedThink was the right agency to help us launch this new product because of their creativity and understanding of the gastroenterology market," said Ellen Marth McKim, vice president of marketing at Salix.
MedThink is also the agency of record for several of Salix's gastrointestinal products, including the colonoscopy preparation OsmoPrep (sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate, USP and sodium phosphate dibasic anhydrous, USP) and the targeted antibiotic Xifaxan (rifaximin).
"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our long-standing relationship with Salix," said Walt Clarke, partner at MedThink. "We continually strive to create lively and engaging campaigns that convey the essence of Salix's brand and its products, and we are excited to be named their partner in this latest endeavor."
ABOUT MEDTHINK COMMUNICATIONS
MedThink Communications is an award-winning, full-service agency whose communications strategies capture the essence of your brand and transform it into compelling messages that inspire your target audiences. Our innovative approach to advertising, medical communications, public relations, media planning and placement, sales training and marketing consulting serves as the perfect complement to strengthen our health care partners' competitive edge. (http://www.medthink.com/)
OsmoPrep Tablets are indicated for cleansing of the colon as a preparation for colonoscopy in adults 18 years of age or older. Considerable caution should be advised before OsmoPrep is used in patients with severe renal insufficiency, congestive heart failure, ascites, unstable angina, gastric retention, ileus, acute obstruction or pseudo-obstruction of the bowel, severe chronic constipation, bowel perforation, acute colitis, toxic megacolon, gastric bypass or stapling surgery, or hypomotility syndrome. Use with caution in patients with impaired renal function, patients with a history of acute phosphate nephropathy, patients with a history of seizures or at higher risk of seizure, patients with higher risk of cardiac arrhythmias, known or suspected electrolyte disturbances (such as dehydration), or people taking drugs that affect electrolyte levels. Patients with electrolyte abnormalities such as hypernatremia, hyperphosphatemia, hypokalemia, or hypocalcemia should have their electrolytes corrected before treatment with OsmoPrep. OsmoPrep is contraindicated in patients with a known allergy or hypersensitivity to sodium phosphate salts or any of its ingredients. In clinical trials, the most commonly reported adverse reactions (reporting frequency >3%) were abdominal bloating, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. It is recommended that patients receiving OsmoPrep be advised to adequately hydrate before, during, and after the use of OsmoPrep. Full prescribing information may be found at http://salix.com/assets/pdf/osmoprep/osmoprep_prescribing_info.pdf.
XIFAXAN (rifaximin) Tablets are indicated for the treatment of patients (greater than or equal to 12 years of age) with travelers' diarrhea caused by noninvasive strains of Escherichia coli. XIFAXAN should not be used in patients with diarrhea complicated by fever or blood in the stool or diarrhea due to pathogens other than Escherichia coli. XIFAXAN should be discontinued if diarrhea symptoms get worse or persist more than 24-48 hours, and alternative antibiotic therapy should be considered. Escherichia coli has been shown to develop resistance to rifaximin in vitro. However, the clinical significance of such an effect has not been studied.
In clinical trials, XIFAXAN was generally well tolerated. The most common side effects (vs placebo) were flatulence 11.3% (vs 19.7%), headache 9.7% (vs 9.2%), abdominal pain 7.2% (vs 10.1%), and rectal tenesmus 7.2% (vs 8.8%). Full prescribing information may be found at http://salix.com/assets/pdf/xifaxan/XifaxanPI.pdf.
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