LONDON, October 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Cogora, the media and marketing services group, has today announced the acquisition of PCM Healthcare, a leading medical education and communications agency.
The terms of the deal, which will create one of the UK's largest independent healthcare agencies, were not disclosed.
Cogora's media brands include Pulse, Nursing in Practice, The Commissioning Review and Hospital Pharmacy Europe, while the company's marketing services arm delivers research, strategy and campaigns for its clients.
Cogora Chief Executive John Pettifor commented: "Though we started life as a 'traditional' media company, we've also been operating in the agency space for some time now and we've been looking to build the size of the group in this area.
"We identified PCM right at the very beginning of that journey as a potential acquisition that would bring the very highest levels of technical expertise and clinical knowledge to the group, as well as broaden the geographic scope of our operations and bring their leadership position within European CME. So I am absolutely delighted that Alisa, Rob and the team are joining us."
PCM Healthcare co-founders Alisa Pearlstone and Rob Miller will continue to lead the business post-acquisition, and the company will remain in its London Docklands offices.
PCM has pioneered novel approaches to deliver healthcare communications and non-promotional medical education that have measurable impact on patient care standards for a range of clients including Novartis, Gilead and Indivior.
The company is structured into two separate divisions: PCM Scientific, its specialist CME and independent education business, has delivered some of the largest and most successful practice-enhancing education programmes in Europe over the last few years; and Pharmacom Media, its separate promotional medical communications team, produces medical communication strategies and tactical campaigns for its blue-chip pharmaceutical clients.
Commenting on the deal, Alisa Pearlstone said: "PCM Healthcare has grown significantly in recent years on the back of our clear commitment to delivering innovative techniques and meaningful outcomes for our clients. Our partnership with Cogora creates an excellent synergy and promises a significant boost to the PCM Healthcare offering.
"Cogora brings commercially significant resources, which will help us to dramatically extend the reach and impact of our specialist approaches much more widely - not least through Cogora's extensive global physician network, with access to over 220,000 healthcare professionals, and its heavyweight digital production and marketing team. But at the same time, Rob and I will continue to run PCM in exactly the same manner we always have, with the same team, from our current office, and with the continued support of our MDs Alex Monaghan and Celeste Kolanko."
About Cogora
Cogora sits at the heart of a highly engaged community of 220,000 healthcare professionals.
For over 25 years Cogora has produced inspirational and incisive content through its market-leading portfolio of media brands, including Pulse, Nursing in Practice, The Commissioning Review, Management in Practice, Hospital Pharmacy Europe and Hospital Healthcare Europe.
Cogora collects data and insight through these brands, giving it a deep understanding of what its audiences want. Its in-house agency team then combines these resources to create innovative, flexible marketing strategies and solutions that deliver predictable outcomes.
About PCM Healthcare
PCM Healthcare is an independent medical education and communications agency: a team of passionate and talented people who develop novel approaches that are designed with outcomes in mind. PCM has two change-making divisions allowing the company to bring its innovative approach both to arm's length educational initiatives and to medical communications.
PCM Scientific is the clinically focused medical education and CME division of PCM Healthcare. Its creative approaches to education have been proven to improve clinical practice and the team is proud to demonstrate that its work has a real impact on standards of patient care. PCM Scientific is a founding member of the Good CME Practice Group.
Pharmacom Media is an industry-leading, full-service medical communications agency with a focus on strategic insight, scientific excellence and quality delivery. Its strategists, dedicated project managers and PhD-qualified writers are supported by exceptional, experienced, award-winning digital experts. Together, they create innovative communication strategies and concepts that are designed with outcomes in mind.
For more information, please contact:
John Pettifor
CEO
Cogora
johnpettifor@cogora.com
Alice Pearlstone
Founder & Chief Strategy Officer
PCM Healthcare
alisa@pcmhealthcare.com
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