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Oncology, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, represents a critical opportunity for pharmaceutical companies, offering significant rewards for those who achieve breakthroughs.
AstraZeneca, a UK-based pharmaceutical giant with oncology revenue of $18.4 billion in 2023, has now added WPP to its agency roster. This move follows a reshuffle where Omnicom and Interpublic are also part of the roster, with Interpublic appearing to be the most affected. Previously, WPP and IPG both lost substantial business and faced a decline in global revenues when AstraZeneca’s rival, Pfizer, consolidated most of its business with Publicis.
WPP is establishing a new bespoke agency based in the US and UK to manage this business. The agency will be led by VML Health, with support from Grey and Ogilvy.
Health@WPP’s Chief Client Officer stated, “WPP’s AstraZeneca team will leverage its extensive creative expertise and the latest technologies across the network to deliver innovative and strategic solutions for AstraZeneca’s oncology brands globally and in the United States.”
AstraZeneca plans to launch 20 new drugs by 2030, with the global cancer therapy market estimated at $168.5 billion.