GolinHarris has launched a dedicated healthcare practice, enabling the agency to offer specialist in-house health communications from its London base.

Kicking off with a team of five, the practice offers a range of healthcare services at international and domestic levels from public relations for prescription and OTC products or consumer goods with a health positioning, through to medical education and scientific writing.

GolinHarris already has specialist health teams in Chicago, New York, London and Singapore. Virgo HEALTH became part of the group in July 2012 and has driven the formation of the new team, led by long-standing Virgo director Siân Boisseau.

Angie Wiles, joint global healthcare practice leader explained: “The GolinHarris Healthcare Practice and Virgo HEALTH brands sit alongside each other within IPG, collaborating where appropriate but separate where client conflicts exist.

“It is therefore a very natural but important progression for us to establish a healthcare team within GolinHarris London that can also deliver the uncompromised health communications for which Virgo has become known.”

Siân said: “Establishing a healthcare team in London opens up wonderful opportunities to work with new and different clients and to be an integral part of GolinHarris, while also bringing Virgo’s unmatched healthcare insight to the table.

“We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Omega Pharma in recent years so we are overjoyed to have the opportunity to support their entire portfolio!”

Matt Neale, president international, GolinHarris said: “With Siân and her team joining GolinHarris London, we’re able to offer award-winning healthcare work from day one and our new clients are immediately able to benefit from the agency’s g4 creator community and industry-leading Bridge.”