The Agency Roster

    RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- MedThink Communications, an
innovator in medical communications, brand development, advertising and
public relations, has been retained by Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc, in
Morrisville to launch and promote its newest product under development, an
orally disintegrating form of metoclopramide.

    Salix recently licensed the rights to market the orally disintegrating
metoclopramide tablet and will bring the drug to market following approval
from the Food and Drug Administration.

    MedThink's team of communication professionals will initiate a branding
and promotional campaign that includes logo design, an advertising
campaign, promotional material and public relations strategies. The medical
communications team at MedThink will educate scientific and professional
audiences through peer-reviewed manuscripts, abstracts and posters.

    "We felt that MedThink was the right agency to help us launch this new
product because of their creativity and understanding of the
gastroenterology market," said Ellen Marth McKim, vice president of
marketing at Salix.

    MedThink is also the agency of record for several of Salix's
gastrointestinal products, including the colonoscopy preparation OsmoPrep
(sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate, USP and sodium phosphate dibasic
anhydrous, USP) and the targeted antibiotic Xifaxan (rifaximin).

    "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our long-standing
relationship with Salix," said Walt Clarke, partner at MedThink. "We
continually strive to create lively and engaging campaigns that convey the
essence of Salix's brand and its products, and we are excited to be named
their partner in this latest endeavor."

    ABOUT MEDTHINK COMMUNICATIONS

    MedThink Communications is an award-winning, full-service agency whose
communications strategies capture the essence of your brand and transform
it into compelling messages that inspire your target audiences. Our
innovative approach to advertising, medical communications, public
relations, media planning and placement, sales training and marketing
consulting serves as the perfect complement to strengthen our health care
partners' competitive edge. (http://www.medthink.com)

    OsmoPrep Tablets are indicated for cleansing of the colon as a
preparation for colonoscopy in adults 18 years of age or older.
Considerable caution should be advised before OsmoPrep is used in patients
with severe renal insufficiency, congestive heart failure, ascites,
unstable angina, gastric retention, ileus, acute obstruction or
pseudo-obstruction of the bowel, severe chronic constipation, bowel
perforation, acute colitis, toxic megacolon, gastric bypass or stapling
surgery, or hypomotility syndrome. Use with caution in patients with
impaired renal function, patients with a history of acute phosphate
nephropathy, patients with a history of seizures or at higher risk of
seizure, patients with higher risk of cardiac arrhythmias, known or
suspected electrolyte disturbances (such as dehydration), or people taking
drugs that affect electrolyte levels. Patients with electrolyte
abnormalities such as hypernatremia, hyperphosphatemia, hypokalemia, or
hypocalcemia should have their electrolytes corrected before treatment with
OsmoPrep. OsmoPrep is contraindicated in patients with a known allergy or
hypersensitivity to sodium phosphate salts or any of its ingredients. In
clinical trials, the most commonly reported adverse reactions (reporting
frequency >3%) were abdominal bloating, nausea, abdominal pain, and
vomiting. It is recommended that patients receiving OsmoPrep be advised to
adequately hydrate before, during, and after the use of OsmoPrep. Full
prescribing information may be found at
http://salix.com/assets/pdf/osmoprep/osmoprep_prescribing_info.pdf.

    XIFAXAN (rifaximin) Tablets are indicated for the treatment of patients
(greater than or equal to 12 years of age) with travelers' diarrhea caused
by noninvasive strains of Escherichia coli. XIFAXAN should not be used in
patients with diarrhea complicated by fever or blood in the stool or
diarrhea due to pathogens other than Escherichia coli. XIFAXAN should be
discontinued if diarrhea symptoms get worse or persist more than 24-48
hours, and alternative antibiotic therapy should be considered. Escherichia
coli has been shown to develop resistance to rifaximin in vitro. However,
the clinical significance of such an effect has not been studied.

    In clinical trials, XIFAXAN was generally well tolerated. The most
common side effects (vs placebo) were flatulence 11.3% (vs 19.7%), headache
9.7% (vs 9.2%), abdominal pain 7.2% (vs 10.1%), and rectal tenesmus 7.2%
(vs 8.8%). Full prescribing information may be found at
http://salix.com/assets/pdf/xifaxan/XifaxanPI.pdf.


SOURCE MedThink Communications