PMEA 2005: Results

Leading figures in the pharmaceutical industry gathered at The Dorchester, Park Lane last night to acknowledge and celebrate winners of the most sought after awards on the pharmaceutical calendar - The Pharmaceutical Marketing Effectiveness Awards (PMEA).

The event, now in its fifth year, was the classiest, and most tense to date, as the European pharma industry's finest went head to head in 12 fiercely-fought categories.

Rick Brown, Chair of the judges, highlighted the significance the PMEAs, saying: These awards have become a benchmark for high achievement in the industry and are justly prized by winning companies. Most of all however, it's worth noting that the majority of the entries showed very real benefit to patients, who actually lay at the core of entry. He told the crowd that the night was about, Celebrating success and recognising talent. The awards, which value the difference that effective marketing can make to success, were received by 13 innovative and hard-working teams, with three highly commendations awarded.

Host for the night, former BBC and ITV political correspondent, John Sergeant, maintained a genial mood in the room with plenty of laughs, slipping in anecdotes about the Prime Minister, Alistair Campbell and even making a small contribution to the debate over highly paid, good-looking newsreaders.

Last night, GlaxoSmithKline made a substantial mark on proceedings, coming away with the ultimate accolade, the PMEA Company of the Year award for the third time in the event's history. It was just one three awards picked up this year, proving once again that they are a magnificent marketing machine.

Eli Lilly was highly commended in the PMEA Company of the Year category, while Servier Laboratories picked up the PMEA Company of the Year award (<£100m) and also the award for Product Launch of the Year. Servier, indeed, was the pharmaceutical company that grew most in the UK last year and with three awards this year, the industry can expect big things in 2006. One of the PMEA judges, Michael Thomas commented: They live and breathe marketing their achievements and their results speak for themselves.

It was a night when some of the industry's smaller companies highlighted when and where being small can have its advantage. Apart from Servier's success, Medlock Medical walked away with two awards, including the Innovation award for its Dermatology campaign. If there was any complacency this year by the larger companies, mutterings around the hall confirmed that next year's competition would be even more fiercely contested with a concerted attempt to put things back 'in their natural order'. Last night clearly demonstrated, however, the innovation of some smaller companies and the increased competitiveness of this year's competition.

The PMEAs are open to all UK & European pharmaceutical companies and/or their primary marketing agencies, and entries were critically judged by marketing experts from both pharmaceutical management consultancies and academia.

There were plenty of content teams leaving The Dorchester last night, but John Sergeant warned that no matter how much you prepare, it's never enough. He told the crowd of the time he and his colleague John Cole were completely stumped by one unnamed female newsreader at the BBC, despite their in-depth knowledge. What's the next surprising thing that's going to happen? she asked. Like Sergeant, the pharmaceutical industry cannot answer that question, but this year's award winners have certainly set the scene for how the industry is changing and developing and highlighted the importance of effective teamwork and integration of activities when it comes to delivering marketing excellence.