MHP Health Mandate called in for blood cancer brief

The appointment comes after Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research launched a Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP), connecting a UK-wide network of hospitals aimed at giving blood cancer patients faster access to new drugs.

Emma Whelan, director of marketing at Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, said: ‘MHP’s expertise in cancer is second to none. We were impressed by the agency’s detailed understanding of the issues around clinical trials and obvious passion for helping us to deliver our vision to beat blood cancers.’

L&L Research’s chairman of fundraising is Tony Blair’s former comms director Alastair Campbell.

MHP Health Mandate has been charged with communicating with policymakers, parliamentarians and the research community about the TAP programme, driving the message that red tape needs to be cut in the process of accessing drugs.

The account will be led by MHP Health Mandate director Rachel Rowson.

Thirteen hospitals have signed up to the network including Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and King’s College, London. Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, which serves as the hub, is co-ordinating the delivery of world-class clinical trials across the centres.

Former England footballer and leukaemia survivor Geoff Thomas is championing the TAP clinical trials initiative. He received a life-saving stem cell transplant from his sister in 2004.