AstraZeneca (AZ) has selected WPP as a primary network for its global oncology advertising business.
Based in the US and UK, a bespoke WPP team will bring together experts from the organisation’s global network to support US and global advertising for AZ’s portfolio of cancer medicines.
Led by VML Health and comprising Grey Health and Ogilvy Health, the team will complement the efforts of CMI Media Group, which already supports oncology media planning and buying for the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker.
Mohit Manrao, senior vice president, head of US oncology at AZ, said: “Collaboration with partners who share our passion is critical for us to achieve progress against our bold ambition to one day eliminate cancer as a cause of death.
“WPP has been a long-standing partner and we are looking forward to expanding our work together.”
Sharing a similar sentiment, Wendy Lund, chief client officer, HEALTH@WPP, said: “Central to this groundbreaking partnership is a shared commitment and passion to eliminate cancer as a cause of death.”
“WPP’s AZ team will leverage its extensive creative expertise and the latest technologies across the network to deliver innovative and strategic solutions for the AZ oncology brands globally and in the US,” she said.
AZ reported “very strong” revenue and earnings per share growth in the first quarter of 2024, with its oncology portfolio contributing $5.1bn in revenue during that period.
The company has been gaining a notable number of oncology approvals in recent months, including the marketing authorisation it received from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency earlier this week for Imfinzi (durvalumab) in a subset of adults with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Its epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated-tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tagrisso (osimertinib) was also approved by the European Commission last week as part of a combination treatment for a subset of advanced NSCLC patients, and it was recently granted a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee for use of Imfinzi plus Lynparza (olaparib) in certain endometrial cancer patients.