PR Week found itself going round in circles when following up the
story that the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) wouldn’t
recommend Glaxo Wellcome’s Relenza as an NHS drug.
On calling Hill and Knowlton, which handles Relenza for Glaxo Wellcome,
I was assured an expert on the matter would call me back.
Unfortunately, the ’expert’ was not allowed to comment, and instead
directed me to Glaxo Wellcome communications manager Phil Thomson, who
would comment.
A similar call to NICE was, however, a little sad. ’We don’t have a
press office,’ I was told. It emerged that all media enquiries were
being ably dealt with by new communications director, Anne Toni Rodgers,
who unfortunately has yet to appoint a PR team.
Things being the way they are in the public sector, Rodgers is unlikely
to see any new staff joining before this current media deluge is
over.
Maybe any spare bods at H&K, not allowed to comment on Relenza by
Wellcome, might like to volunteer their services in the interim.
