PR and Med Ed news in brief

Thomson takes over at Avenue HKM
Avenue HKM has named PM Society chairman, Sandy Thomson as its new chief executive officer and appointed Dr Steve Carroll as board director. Sandy joined Avenue in May 2005 following 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry, latterly head of health communications at Novartis UK. Steve was formerly senior partner at Fleishman Hillard and headed up the London office of its healthcare practice. He was also one of the founders of healthcare agency CPR, which was acquired by Fleishman Hillard in 1999. Former Avenue HKM CEO, Jeff Smith will become the new CEO of Broadstreet, a US based creative communications consultancy.

Asthma UK launches awareness drive
Asthma UK has launched a new awareness campaign, entitled The Deadly Serious Campaign to highlight the fact that the condition can be fatal. The charity's campaign will be supported by its first television adverts, which hope to generate awareness of the fact that over 90 per cent of deaths are preventable. While the TV ads will last for just a week, the PR push is planned to last up to World Asthma Day on May 2.