Tonic Life wins Euro brief for painkiller

The agency saw off Cohn & Wolfe, Hill & Knowlton and Shire Health International to secure a contract
for Mundipharma International's Targin.

Targin is at least two years away from launch in the UK but Mundipharma hopes it will become a big-seller for the company soon after it has been approved for use. It is already available in Germany.

Many existing pain products have the unfortunate side-effect of causing constipation, but this has not been flagged as a problem during Targin's clinical trials. Tonic Life has not previously worked with Mundipharma. But its CEO Scott Clark and agency founder ­director Moira Gitsham ­formerly worked with ­Mundipharma European comms director Rob Cohen when he worked at GlaxoSmith-Kline.

Tonic Life MD Oliver ­Parsons leads a four-strong agency team, reporting to Cambridge-based Cohen. The agency's work will include media relations, targeting key opinion-leaders and working with patient groups.

Tonic Life will handle comms in countries such as France, Germany and Spain, as well as the UK. Mundipharma continues to work with C&W and ­Brussels agency Interel on other briefs.

Tonic Life has just relocated its HQ from London's Catherine Place to Chapter Street (both in the Victoria locality). Its new office is four times larger, said Parsons, who added that the agency was recruiting for a number of mid-level and junior roles.