Marc Longpre

WASHINGTON, DC: Weber Shandwick aided Genentech on communications work leading to approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Avastin, a drug used in treating metastatic breast cancer, sources told PRWeek.

WASHINGTON: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has launched a nonpartisan commission to address the various influences on the health industry. The commission was announced last Thursday in Washington DC, and its work is expected to carry into early 2009.

NEW YORK: Two filmmakers are promoting their new documentary, "Please Talk to Kids About AIDS," as a helpful tool for parents to learn how to talk to their children about the virus.

Procter & Gamble announces its plans on keeping employment levels flat or slightly below current levels for the foreseeable future.

NEW YORK: The Pfizer Foundation has launched a new grant initiative with a global communications push, supported by Edelman. According to a Pfizer communications officer, Edelman is lending assistance to the foundation's in-house team.

Ketchum has inked a new deal to bring MMG, an agency involved in patient enrollment for clinical trials, under its umbrella.

As social networking continues to creep into different niche communities, PR pros keep expanding the ways in which they can make use of these sites.

Digital practices at large agencies have been pushing the boundaries for new-media uses in PR for several years now.

SAN FRANCISCO: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), a public organization created by voter referendum, is fending off accusations from a watchdog group that it "laundered" PR advice through its law firm in order to keep the advice secret.

It has been some time now since we first caught wind of "citizen journalism," a trend that seems to be forever threatening to explode, without yet causing too much panic within the media landscape.