MCCANN EXPANDS INTO PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETING
By Adnews Staff
McLaren McCann of Toronto has entered the pharmaceutical marketing industry. The agency has teamed up with U.S.-based Torre Lazur, a pharmaceutical marketing agency, to open a new pharmaceutical firm with offices in Toronto and Montreal. McLaren McCann owns 50% of the joint venture, while Torre Lazur owns the remaining 50%. The new agency is called Torre Lazur McCann. Mark Swithenbank has joined the new agency as vice-president and general manager. Most recently he was client services director at Remtulla & Associates of Toronto. Anthony Phelips has been named president of Torre Lazur McCann. Formerly he was founder of Interesting Projects, which offered pharmaceutical consulting mainly in the U.S. Phelips was also co-founder of Medicus and Sudler & Hennessey/Gall, as well as general manager of Young & Rubicam. Hans Aarden is the national creative director at the agency. Previously he was creative director at Remtulla. Aarden was also co-founder of Medicus. Torre Lazur McCann opened its offices Jan. 1 and has won its first piece of business. The agency was given a project from Bayer Inc. to launch a new treatment for Alzheimer's. Torre Lazur won the business after a competition with Cossette Communication-Marketing of Montreal, Sudler & Hennessey/Gall of Toronto and Marketing Communications of London, Ont. In the U.S., Torre Lazur is a McCann-Erickson agency.