Producing scientific posters and poster books for the pharmaceutical industry is a highly specialised job, demanding both the highest possible standards of professionalism and technical expertise. The Cinnamon Agency understands this, and has had a wealth of experience working with some of the industry’s major pharmaceutical brands at conferences and events throughout the world.
The Cinnamon Agency, working in conjunction with Mapi Values, recently produced a scientific poster for our client Sanofi Pasteur (MSD) for the British Pain Society conference on pain management on 21/24 June, 2011 in Edinburgh. Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of parent group Sanofi Aventis, working in Europe in conjunction with their partner Merck & Co, is the world’s leading producer of human vaccines, like Zostavax, and works in conjunction with pain management experts, healthcare professionals and patients to develop vaccines that provide protection against 20 bacterial and viral diseases for more than 500 million people across the globe.
Our brief, in conjunction with Mapi Values, was to produce a scientific poster for our client, Sanofi Pasteur (MSD), to draw attention to the continued research and development work they were doing in the field of vaccination to protect against infectious diseases like Herpes Zoster, more commonly known as shingles which currently affects approximately 11 out of every 1000 adults over the age of 65.
Zoster (shingles) is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the cause of chickenpox. The VZV virus, which remains in the nerve cells for life after chickenpox or after the chickenpox vaccine, may re-appear as shingles in later life, particularly in the elderly and those who are immuno-compromised. This is due to a declining immunity to the VZV virus over time. Thus, anyone who has had chicken pox or the chickenpox live virus vaccine is at risk of developing shingles. While shingles can occur at any age, the risk does increase with age.
Because the VZV infection starts in the nerves, it can also be painful as well as infectious. The pain can last for months after the rash has subsided and can be severe: this is called post herpetic neuralgia or PHN. Sanofi Pasteur is currently the only company to produce a live vaccine for shingles, marketed under the name Zostavax since 2006. The vaccine is licensed throughout the world and has been medically proven to reduce the risk of severe disease in the elderly by almost 55 percent.