PR Week (UK) articles from July 2004

PR Week (UK) archives from July 2004

Nexus clinches soft drinks task.(Nexus Communications Group)(British Soft Drinks Association )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) has responded to the obesity-related backlash from the media with the appointment of Nexus Communications Group as its first external PR agency. 'Sales of soft drinks did very well last year so we...

Study shows procurement chiefs' knowledge gap.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Just two in ten procurement directors believe their PR and marketing departments are willing to comply with procurement practices, with 40 per cent complaining of a lack of access to details of companies' marketing spend. The survey of 120...

Thomas Cook steals Griffiths from P&O job.( Bronwen Griffiths )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Thomas Cook has poached P&O Cruises communications chief Bronwen Griffiths to steer its PR efforts as it prepares to deal with the fall-out from its increased fuel-cost fee on all holiday bookings. The appointment comes a month after the...

Wanadoo axes UK comms boss.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Wanadoo, the ISP previously known as Freeserve, has made external affairs director Nick Mason Pearson redundant following a management reshuffle. Mason Pearson, who joined last year, leaves next week. His responsibilities have been assumed...

Freuds secures Lastminute summer holiday brief.
July 2, 2004... Lastminute.com has called in Freud Communications to handle a summer PR blitz targeting late holidaymakers. The campaign launches today (Friday) with billboard ads carrying the provisional tagline 'more beaches, better deals'. Freuds'...

UK Transplant PR pitch to boost donor numbers.(UK Transplant)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... UK Transplant, the organisation responsible for the NHS organ donor register, is on the hunt for external PR support as it gears up to launch two campaigns to raise its profile and increase organ donations. The move comes just days after...

Black takes on media job at DLA.(Eben Black appointed to DLA Upstream)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Government affairs firm DLA Upstream has recruited former Sunday Times chief political correspondent Eben Black as its head of media. Black joins the 20-strong outfit in the newly created post later this month, reporting to MD Steve John....

Coke hires M&C for football sponsorship account.(Coca-Cola GmbH)
July 2, 2004... Coca-Cola GB has appointed M&C Saatchi Sponsorship to promote its three-year sponsorship of the revamped Football League. 'We will work closely with the Football League, but our job is to focus on the Coca-Cola messaging coming out of the...

Easynet reviews PR before Athens.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Broadband provider Easynet is reviewing its PR account ahead of its sponsorship of the British Olympic team this summer. Incumbent Grant Butler Coomber, which was hired last year, has declined to repitch. Easynet PR manager Anne Perry...

Unilever appoints Johns for comms.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Former BT director of group media relations Tim Johns has joined Unilever as senior media relations manager. Johns replaces head of corporate media relations Mike Haines, who quit the FMCG giant after 23 years. Haines is considering...

Salmon body plans fresh PR drive.(Public Relations)(Scottish Quality Salmon )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Quality assurance body Scottish Quality Salmon (SQS) is to launch a pounds 3m campaign to promote the health benefits of eating salmon and the working practices of the industry. Funded by the Scottish Executive, the Crown Estate and the...

3 PR chief Bashford lands Brunswick role.(Ray Bashford)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... HONG KONG: Ex-Hutchison 3G UK comms chief Ray Bashford has re-emerged as head of Brunswick's first Asian office. Bashford is spearheading the financial PR shop's foray into the Chinese market as a Brunswick partner, heading the firm's newly...

IPR members approve Charter bid.(Institute of Public Relations)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... IPR members have approved its move to apply for Royal Charter status after a vote at its annual general meeting last week. It is the first time that the IPR will officially push for the status, following failed discussions with Whitehall on...

News brief: Brodeur in talks with ECC.(Brodeur Worldwide contracts with ECC Group )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... MERGER TALKS: Brodeur Worldwide is in talks with Omnicom sister company ECC Group to create a new pan-European agency rumoured to have the provisional name 'Pleon', the Greek word for 'more'. Brodeur EMEA president Alex Schoep said plans to...

News brief: Better Times handles media.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... HUMBERSIDE: Media relations surrounding Humberside Police Authority's legal spat with Home Secretary David Blunkett over its refusal to suspend chief constable David Westwood is being handled by the authority's retained agency Better Times. The...

News brief: Lewis PR hired.(by First Drinks Brands)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... CONSUMER PR: First Drinks Brands, the sales and marketing arm of distiller William Grant & Sons, has hired Lewis PR to promote whisky brand Balvennie.

News brief: Pielle Vision 2015 helps chamber.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... PAKISTAN: Pielle Consulting Group's Pakistan-based joint venture Pielle Vision 2015 has helped set up the country's first Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

News brief: WPP merges Abingdon.(WPP Group PLC)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... INTERNAL COMMS: WPP Group has merged its internal communications specialist Abingdon into Ogilvy's London PR operation. From next week, Abingdon will be renamed Ogilvy Internal Communications, and chief executive Michael Frankenberg will join...

News brief: Aurelia hired.(Polaris World contracted with Aurelia Public Relations )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... CONSUMER PR: Luxury Spanish golf resort developer Polaris World has hired Aurelia Public Relations to handle its PR as part of a winning BBDO/Omnicom consortium.

News brief: TCG promotes Evans.(appointments and promotions at The Communication Group )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... PROMOTION: The Communication Group (TCG) has promoted financial division director Richard Evans to divisional MD, replacing Michael Holmes, who has become a non-executive director. TCG has hired Brunswick associate director Alison Howard to...

Douwe Egberts in retail sales push.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Coffee brand Douwe Egberts has called in B2B Communications for a trade PR brief to position it as a coffee expert and to maximise sales by working with supermarket groups on in-store positioning. Douwe Egberts category manager Rob Stroud...

Brighter to plug BCP travel offer.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Car park provider BCP is launching a PR offensive to raise its profile as a company that also offers holiday 'essentials' such as travel insurance, foreign currency and airport hotel accommodation. It has hired Brighter PR after a four-way...

Auction sends AA to top as tube strike hurts RMT.(Automobile Association )(Reputation Monitor)
July 2, 2004... Centrica's pounds 1.5bn auction of the Automobile Association pushed both brands to the top of this week's Reputation Monitor. The AA moved from 11th last week to the top spot, while owner Centrica jumped from 18th to second. PR around...

Hatcher to launch Cubitt's PA division.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Former PricewaterhouseCoopers head of global public affairs and global regulatory board member Mark Hatcher has resurfaced to launch financial shop Cubitt Consulting's PA division. Hatcher left PwC last October after 15 years with the...

FIA gains support for fitness drive.(Fitness Industry Association )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Fitness Industry Association (FIA) has teamed up with responsible-drinking organisation The Portman Group and the NHS to encourage the public to 'commit to get fit'. The FIA is targeting more than 525 private health clubs and public...

Hornby to battle 'anorak' image.(Threepipe Communications)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Hornby has enlisted start-up agency Threepipe Communications to dispel the 'anorak' image of model train hobbies. The PR push will target consumer lifestyle media. Hornby has gained positive financial press coverage of late. It...

Weboptimiser in agency search.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Internet marketing firm Weboptimiser is on the hunt for its first PR agency. Weboptimiser MD David White said it was looking for a PR firm to help it promote its services to UK businesses: 'We want to know how we can communicate better...

TK Maxx selects H&K's Tyrer to bolster comms.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Discount clothes retailer TK Maxx has appointed its first PR head in a bid to bolster its comms efforts ahead of ongoing expansion plans. The store has confirmed that Hill & Knowlton associate director Anne Tyrer is to take the newly...

BBC's transport reporter joins FH.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Fishburn Hedges has snapped up BBC transport correspondent Simon Montague to join the agency as a consultant in September. Montague will work across a range of existing clients including the Department of Transport and Transport for London,...

Public Sector: Anti-drug driving push in Scotland.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The West of Scotland Road Safety Forum, a consortium of 12 local councils, is to launch its first major anti-drug driving campaign in September. The campaign is aimed at encouraging people aged 17 to 25 and, in particular, clubbers, to...

Public Sector: Guildford nets Woking's Burt for top comms role.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Guildford Borough Council has appointed Alison Burt to its newly created head of communications post. Burt joins from neighbouring Woking Borough Council where she was marketing comms manager. She will report to Guildford Borough...

Public Sector: Patent Offices launches rights awareness drive.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Patent Office has launched a campaign to raise awareness among SMEs and entrepreneurs of intellectual property rights. It follows the release last year of the DTI's Innovation Report, which highlighted the importance of intellectual...

Public Sector: Entrepreneur body hires Therapy.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) has appointed Therapy Communications to launch the body, after a three-way pitch. NCGE, which launches in the autumn and is yet to announce a CEO, will promote entrepreneurship to...

Public Sector: Environment PR grabs IDeA focus.(Improvement and Development Agency )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Improvement and Development Agency (IdeA) has launched an online tool developed specifically to help councils get environmental messages across to the media. The Connecting with Communities module 'Communicating Sustainable...

Public Sector: Redbridge music festival.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The London Borough of Redbridge is targeting the London media as part of a campaign to raise awareness of its debut appearance in the music festival calendar. Called the Redbridge Spectacular 2004, the three-day event this weekend features acts...

Public Sector: Poetry campaign on Cornwall buses.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Cornwall County Council has launched a campaign to encourage bus travel in the area, called Poetry in Motion. The campaign runs until the end of July and is part of a council commitment to increase bus journeys by 12 per cent from 8.9m to...

Public Sector: Derbyshire push to curb drug use.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Derbyshire Constabulary has launched a push to encourage people to call Crimestoppers. Called Rat on a Rat, it is aimed specifically to combat drug dealing. The campaign, which launched this week, will run for three months and is urging...

Public Sector: Hudson takes role at Constitutional Affairs.(Department for Constitutional Affairs)(Lucian Hudson)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Department for Constitutional Affairs has recruited the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) top PRO Lucian Hudson as its director of communications. Hudson joins at the end of July, just a year after the...

Public Sector: Warrington tackles binge drinking.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Warrington Borough Council is this week launching a campaign to combat binge drinking among young people. Entitled 'Drink: Draw The Line', the campaign will be rolled out in three phases, with the first targeting 17 to 25-year-olds to warn...

Public Sector brief: Newcastle Liberal Democrats criticised.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... NEWCASTLE: Newcastle City Council's Liberal Democrat group, which took control of the council after last month's elections, has been criticised by the Labour opposition group over its decision to hire a political assistant. Labour councillors...

Public Sector brief: Doncaster council campaigns.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... DONCASTER: Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council is staging a week of publicity aimed at children to raise awareness of environmental issues. The campaign, 'Resource Recovery Week', aims to teach children the 'four Rs - reduce, reuse, recover...

Public Sector brief: Wales Tourist Broad awarded.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... WALES: The Wales Tourist Broad has won an award for a campaign aimed at Dutch and German holidaymakers. The 'Find a Path' campaign scooped the best travel and leisure campaign award at the Precision Marketing Response Awards. As a result of the...

Public Sector brief: Sentencing Commission launches drive.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... SCOTLAND: The Sentencing Commission for Scotland has launched a public consultation drive on the use of bail and remand in the country. Commission chairman Lord MacLean said it was vital to balance, 'the rights of the accused with interests of...

Public Sector brief: Devon Council campaigns.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... DEVON: Devon County Council has kicked off a campaign to combat drink-driving focusing on 'the morning after'. The campaign will warn of the dangers of still being drunk the day after a night out. PR efforts are supported by direct mail and...

Public Sector brief: Medway council launches strand.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... KENT: Medway Council has launched an online strand to its public consultation exercise into the future of public transport in the area. The council has made a comments sheet available online for residents to give their views on the subject....

Public Sector brief: East Riding of Yorkshire campaigns.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... YORKSHIRE: East Riding of Yorkshire Council is targeting local businesses with a campaign to raise awareness of corporate discount packages for swimming pools and leisure centres in the area. The packages, involving a swipe card, include...

Voluntary Sector: Livingstone to head Foyer PR.(Foyer Federation has appointed Sophie Livingstone)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Youth homelessness charity the Foyer Federation has appointed Groundwork UK public affairs manager Sophie Livingstone as its head of communications. The charity, which supports a network of 'foyers' across the UK where young people can...

Voluntary Sector: National Autistic Society appoints RHS's Lowe.(Royal Horticultural Society's Jennie Lowe )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The National Autistic Society (NAS) has hired Royal Horticultural Society press and PR manager Jennie Lowe as head of PR and media as it prepares to launch a campaign to raise awareness of adult autism. The PR campaign, which will kick off...

Voluntary Sector: Charities and gun groups in anti-arms campaign.(International Action Network on Small Arms )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Amnesty International, Oxfam and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) have joined forces with UK gun groups to raise awareness about the impact of guns at home and overseas. The NGOs have teamed up with Mothers Against...

Voluntary Sector: CFDG targets Govt over Charity Bill.(Charity Finance Directors' Group )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Charity Finance Directors' Group (CFDG) is spearheading a campaign to persuade the Government to relax the laws on charities trading in the Charities Bill. It is lobbying government to include proposals in the bill that would enable...

Voluntary Sector: Tamba launches multiple-birth awareness drive.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Multiple birth charity Tamba is preparing to launch a PR campaign to highlight its 'Twins, Triplets & More' awareness week. The charity is issuing a survey to the media on the concerns of multiple-birth families. It is targeting regional...

Public Affairs: Airbus appoints Bennett ahead of A380's launch.(Airbus Industrie appoints Katherine Bennett )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Airbus Industrie, manufacturer of the world's largest passenger aircraft, the A380, has hired Vauxhall Motors manager of government affairs Katherine Bennett as its first UK head of government relations. Bennett, who has been at General...

Public Affairs: Sowells takes on dual BP-PA role.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Former Turner Broadcasting UK public affairs director David Sowells is to join Bell Pottinger Public Affairs in a move that marks his return to lobbying after a three-year break. Sowells will join BP-PA next month as a director, where he...

Public Affairs: Foresight hires Savage to boost new business.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Foresight Communications has snapped up Central Railway director of government affairs Chris Savage with a brief to win new business for the public affairs consultancy in the transport, defence and utilities sectors. Savage joins Foresight...

Public Affairs: Design Council in perceptions poll.(LLM Communications)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Design Council has drafted in LLM Communications to conduct a perceptions audit among its key political audiences as a planning aid for its political comms programme. The audit is being run by LLM co-founder John Mendelsohn, who will...

City & Corporate: Five-year tenure for FTSE 100 CEOs.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... FTSE 100 chief executives are spending an average of five years in their jobs according to this year's Cantos survey of CEO tenure. While the average CEO spent 4.4 years in their job in 2002, the length of their time in the position...

City & Corporate: Center Parcs drops BLJ and appoints Brunswick.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Short-break holiday operator Center Parcs has ditched its retained financial PR adviser Brown Lloyd James (BLJ) and drafted in Brunswick six months after the firm's flotation on the AIM. A spokesman for Center Parcs confirmed that the...

City & Corporate: Sanlam picks Penrose for subsidiaries.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Sanlam Financial Services has revamped its UK communications with the appointment of Penrose Financial to handle PR for its five subsidiary companies. Penrose partner Claire Burston began working for asset management firm io investors and...

City & Corporate: WPP revenues up in PR and PA arms.(public relations and public affairs)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... WPP, the international marcoms group that owns Burson-Marsteller, Hill & Knowlton and Finsbury, has posted a seven per cent increase in the revenues of its PR and public affairs divisions for the first five months of 2004. WPP chairman Sir...

City & Corporate: Creditors to hire Eurotunnel shop.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Eurotunnel's creditors are set to bring in Brunswick to advise them on PR just two months after the financial PR shop lost its account with the debt-stricken company. Brunswick is understood to have beaten off competition from several...

City & Corporate: CDR grabs Bet on Sports financial task.(Citigate Dewe Rogerson)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Bet on Sports, the online bookmaker and casino, has hired Citigate Dewe Rogerson to handle its financial PR ahead of an autumn AIM listing. The company, which has an annual turnover of pounds 878m, announced its intention to float on the...

City & Corporate: Woodford gains director role at Bell Pottinger C&F.(Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Former Serco director of corporate affairs and Morgan Grenfell head of communications Ben Woodford has re-emerged at financial PR shop Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial. Woodford left support services giant Serco in January and has...

City & Corporate: Cubitt appoints Hendrie to retail IR post.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Cubitt Consulting has poached MacMaster & Company investor relations director Kirsten Hendrie to plug the gap left by the sudden departure of head of retail IR Ramona Tipnis last month (PRWeek, 18 June). Hendrie quit the five-strong IR...

City & Corporate: Gaining an edge is good business.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... People who don't have money are always surprised at the lengths to which people who are already as rich as Croesus will go in order to get a bit more. That is because most people just want money to pay bills and to support their chosen...

Healthcare: AHC plans September forum to debate ROI.(Association of Healthcare Communicators )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The Association of Healthcare Communicators (AHC) is planning to debate and make recommendations on return on investment in PR at an industry forum due in September. A group of 45 senior industry figures, including in-house procurement...

Healthcare: C&W health practice boosts senior team.(Cohn & Wolfe )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Cohn & Wolfe has promoted two directors in its healthcare team to the role of MD and named former practice managing director Fiona McMillan as healthcare practice leader, a newly created post. McMillan, who has been on maternity leave since...

Healthcare: Mobilis renews Powell contract.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Mobilis Healthcare has renewed its contract with healthcare agency Powell Communications for three of its leading brands after a competitive review. The Manchester-based firm will handle PR, sponsorship and promotion for the firm's Vulkan...

Healthcare: Genentech hires WS for cancer drug Rituxan.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO: Genentech has hired Weber Shandwick to oversee all PR support for its cancer drug Rituxan. The drug, which currently has US Food and Drug Administration approval to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is undergoing clinical trials...

Healthcare: At a Glance - Advertising OTC drugs.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... So pharma companies are now allowed to advertise OTC treatments? The ban on advertising OTC drugs for a variety of chronic ailments - such as cardiovascular conditions - has been lifted, as of this week. The products now free to be...

Healthcare: Vitabiotics hires Hilton to head PR.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Vitamin maker Vitabiotics has appointed a former account manager at Cohn & Wolfe to head its comms team ahead of plans to boost its PR spend. Alexandra Hilton has joined north London-based Vitabiotics as comms manager, replacing Natalie...

Healthcare: GSK in agency shake-up for diabetes brand drive.
July 2, 2004... GlaxoSmithKline is to shake up the PR support behind its diabetes medication Avandamet by splitting the brand's UK PR account between a duo of start-up independent healthcare shops. Virgo Health PR and Clew Communications were this week on...

Healthcare: Ketchum fills UK healthcare role.
July 2, 2004... Ketchum has appointed a former Ethical Strategies director as an associate director in its UK healthcare team. Caroline Magee joined the Omnicom-owned agency this week and leads a six-strong team handling pan-European promotional work for...

Healthcare: Awareness Campaign Close-up - Alzheimer's Soc targets children.
July 2, 2004... Organisation: Alzheimer's Society Campaign: Alzheimer's Awareness Week PR team: In-house Date: 4-10 July Entitled 'Dementia, Children and Young People', this year's activity will seek to calm fears children may have of the...

Media Relations: 2 Minutes with... Julian Prokaza, Editor - PC Projects.(Interview)
July 2, 2004... What is the ethos of the magazine? The first issue launched this month and I suppose the soundbite would be that the aim is to give practical, jargon-free advice about doing more with your computer. Why launch a magazine concentrating...

Media Relations: Image site to launch for fashion agencies.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Fashion and lifestyle product PROs are to receive a new channel to present brands to the media with the launch of internet service elookbook.com. The service, the brainchild of founding directors Fran and Mary Cronin, will provide product...

Media Relations: What The Papers Say - Mixed response to Telegraph sale.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... The sighs of relief from Canary Wharf were audible when the Barclay brothers' pounds 665m acquisition of the Telegraph Group was announced. The delighted Telegraph CEO Jeremy Deedes hailed the new owners as a safe pair of hands who would...

Media Relations: Televoice set for 'education' drive.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Televoice, the first pay-as-you-go fixed-line telecoms operator, is embarking on a media drive to educate its target market of families, retirees, students and landlords. It will emphasise the message that Televoice allows customers to...

Media Relations: Crash.net bids to raise its profile.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Motorsport site Crash.net is to launch a media relations push in an attempt to boost its profile. The campaign, by recently appointed PR agency Brazil, will aim to raise the web-site's profile in national, lifestyle and broadcast media...

Media Relations: Vidal Sassoon in salon campaign.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Hairdressing giant Vidal Sassoon is launching a media relations campaign to promote its salon concept, Sassoon Studio, which is due to be launched initially in Nottingham. The salon is the first of its kind for Vidal Sassoon, but outlets...

Media Relations: Vodafone in global drive to promote Man Utd link.(Global Experiential Marketing)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Vodafone is kicking off an expanded worldwide media push to promote its sponsorship of Manchester United. The mobile operator has appointed an external agency - Global Experiential Marketing (GEM) - for the first time, following a three-way...

Media Relations: Disability charity WFT hires Ward.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2004... Disability charity Winged Fellowship Trust (WFT) has recruited Emma Ward to the newly created post of media relations executive. The hire signals the charity's intent to develop a media relations strategy involving celebrities and case...

Media Relations: Contact Book Update.
July 2, 2004... PRESS Lee Clayton is to replace Matt Tench as sports editor of the Daily Mail. Tench is moving to The Independent to take up a similar post. Clayton is currently associate editor of sport at The People. He will report to Mail head of sport...

Media Analysis: Bride titles reinvent the wedding.
July 2, 2004... As more couples take control of wedding plans, Mark Johnson reports on how the market's dedicated publications are adapting to their needs and the areas of coverage that are now being sought after. The wedding and bridal magazine market has...

News Analysis: GSK trials register raises PR stakes.(GlaxoSmithKline)
July 2, 2004... GlaxoSmithKline last week unveiled plans to publish a database of its all clinical trials results. Ian Hall finds that a fundamental change in the way Big Pharma communicates on drug trials is just around the corner. GlaxoSmithKline's...