Science in the Spotlight: Our Life Sciences Coverage That Made Headlines in 2023

As another great year of growth for our life sciences client portfolio draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on some of the most exciting pieces of coverage we secured in 2023. Our coverage has racked up hundreds of millions of views, from commentary in nationals, to highly technical thought leadership in international trade publications.

The genomic revolution

Leading the national coverage charge is genomic sequencing firm PacBio, who Spark started working with in 2022. This year, Spark successfully fostered relationships between spokesperson Neil Ward and several national journalists. Ward was quoted extensively in a BBC Future long-read about the path towards personalised medicine, discussing topics such as genomic data privacy and the future of cancer research.

We also secured coverage in The Telegraph by using the news hook of the WHO’s Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week to discuss how genomics can support disease surveillance. Sparking (excuse the pun) the journalists’ interest, the team secured a full interview, which resulted in a second piece on analysing malaria strains. The team also hijacked national headlines to secure a Letter to the Editor in The Financial Times on the UK’s Precision Breeding Bill and how EU legislation must also keep pace with genetic technology advances.

Trade publication coverage also came thick and fast, showcasing PacBio’s core message around the importance of accurate sequencing reads. Some stand-out pieces include a Q&A on its new Onso machine in AZO Life Sciences, thought leadership on rare diseases in Technology Networks, and research in Chemist+Druggist showing the millions that could be saved by the NHS if genomic data was leveraged across its prescriptions service.

AI and clinical trials

Next up, is patient-centric data analytics firm Phesi. In its three-figure coverage total for the year, particularly notable pieces include commentary the team secured in Reuters in a special report on AI in clinical trials. In a detailed piece, Phesi’s Dr Gen Li is quoted alongside some huge names, including Deloitte, Amgen, the WHO, and the FDA. The piece was syndicated in the Daily Mail and Yahoo! – reaching more than 300m readers in total.

Earlier in the year, the team also set its sights on getting into POLITICO. Success was secured with Phesi’s analysis of the most studied disease areas globally, proving the power of data-driven stories. Phesi also made it into respected and widely read tier-one US trade target Fierce Biotech, with news of it Krystelis partnership to improve clinical trial diversity. Elsewhere, the team built a relationship with new pharma magazine EMG Gold, securing an interview with founder Dr Gen Li.

Not-for-profit Lab of the Future

Data-driven stories were also a huge success for not-for-profit client, The Pistoia Alliance. With its Lab of the Future research covering topics like AI, cloud and virtual reality, the team secured 12 pieces of coverage in target publications, including Scientific Computing World and Med-tech Innovation. The Alliance’s projects were also popular with the media, particularly its MethodsHub project which creates a central database for the storage and sharing of experiment methods. The team landed more than 10 pieces for the launch of the project’s next phase and the Alliance’s call for more companies to provide funding. Among these were Lab Manager and Manufacturing Chemist.

Content for a website rebrand

Finally, shifting slightly away from traditional PR and making the most of Spark’s content skills, the Elsevier team has been supporting data and analytics leader, Elsevier. The client wanted educational, technical explainer pages that it could use for lead generation on its re-designed website. After meeting with internal subject matter experts, the Spark team produced two in-depth pages covering the landscape and trends in drug repurposing and Medical Device Regulation. The team also supported SciBite, an Elsevier company, in its slot for Forbes Technology Council, drafting articles on ChatGPT and how AI can support headhunting and information dissemination in companies.

Here's to more fantastic coverage in 2024! To get into contact with the Spark team about PR and content for life sciences, biotech, biopharmaceutical and R&D organisations email us at [email protected]