Tick of approval needed for Alzheimer’s disease medication in AUS
There are calls for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to greenlight a breakthrough medication with the potential to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved humanised monoclonal antibody Lecanemab for use in patients with the neurodegenerative disease, in the wake of promising clinical trial outcomes. The medication, marketed as…
VIVA! Communications clinches gold & two silvers at Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Awards
Team VIVA! was dressed to impress at the annual PRIA Golden Target Awards (GTAs) held at the Sofitel Darling Harbour, Sydney, last night (Thursday, December 1, 2022). A show-stopping 146 finalists representing 35 categories assembled for Australia’s longest-running, and most prestigious public relations and communications awards that both celebrate, and recognise, individuals, agencies and campaigns demonstrating strategic…
VIVA! Communications clinches Best PR Campaign – Awareness and Advocacy with Edwards Lifesciences at the 2022 PRIME Awards
VIVA! Communications marked the 18th annual PRIME Awards in style last night (Thursday, November 10, 2022) together with our much-valued clientele, Edwards Lifesciences and Dr Falk Pharma, and Australian representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, at the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney Hotel. Hosted by comedian, musician and former member of ABC TV’s satirical program, The Chaser,…
Dear Doctor, how’s your blood pressure?
Concerningly, Australian GPs may be inadvertently placing themselves at increased risk of heart attack and stroke, according to new findings from the GP Health Initiative Report released this week, revealing one in seven (14%) GP respondents are not self-monitoring their blood pressure (BP) each year. According to the Servier-commissioned, quantitative, online survey conducted by Metis…
Celebrating 21 years of protecting Aussie bones in partnership with Healthy Bones Australia
Yesterday, our team at VIVA! Communications had the privilege of partnering with Healthy Bones Australia to celebrate their 21 years of protecting Aussie bones. We coordinated a national news media announcement to mark this significant milestone, and announced the organisation’s new partnership with an Australian company to develop a breakthrough diagnostic fracture prediction tool. We…
First treatment in 10 years PBS listed for Aussies
living with aggressive stomach & oesophageal cancers
Australians living with types of aggressive stomach or oesophageal cancers can now access immunotherapy on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), representing the first treatment advance for many of these patients in a decade. OPDIVO® (nivolumab) in combination with chemotherapy, is now reimbursed as an initial treatment for patients with a type of stomach or oesophageal…
Celebrating two decades of health + wellness communications
Today marks an important milestone in the history of VIVA! Communications. I founded the health + wellness communications agency two decades ago today, after working for a number of multi-national PR agencies in Australia, and in various in-house comms-related roles. Armed with brazen ambition, a passion for health and wellness, an unquenchable thirst for independence,…
9 in 10 Australians with deadly heart valve disease not undergoing treatment
Non-surgical treatment now available on Medicare Of the estimated 66,500 Australians living with aortic stenosis, 9 in 10 are not undergoing treatment each year for the potentially life-threatening disease. However, the inclusion of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on Medicare from July 1, 2022, is expanding access to the minimally invasive treatment option for all…
Aussie men with advanced prostate cancer denied access to innovative treatment on Medicare
Almost 20,000 Australian men diagnosed each year with prostate cancer are being denied access to an innovative treatment on Medicare for the nation’s most common cancer in men. Two treatment options – low dose rate brachytherapy (LDR-brachytherapy) and external beam radiation therapy – are approved to treat prostate cancer in Australia by the medical regulator,…
The APCO Bone Health QI Tool Kit – Putting a brake on fractures in the world’s most populous & fastest ageing region
An osteoporotic fracture occurs every three seconds worldwide.1 With more than 50 per cent of the world’s hip fractures expected to occur in the Asia Pacific (AP) region over the next two decades,2 the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) has launched a Bone Health QI Tool Kit today(May 24, 2022), to promote quality improvement…