Ferguson OTC Center of Excellence launched to address increase use of OTC drugs

Ferguson, the founding professional agency of CommonHealth, today announced the launch of the Ferguson OTC (over-the-counter) Center of Excellence, a new initiative designed to address the rapid increase of promotion and use of OTC drugs. Within Ferguson, the Center of Excellence will focus on the marketing of prescription-to-OTC switches and the promotion of OTC brands to healthcare practitioners.

CommonHealth (www.commonhealth.com) is the world's leading healthcare-communications network and a WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) (www.wpp.com) company.

"The role of self-care has become increasingly important in treating common medical conditions, especially in this economy. Currently, the U.S. leads the rest of the world in the use of OTC products to treat most common conditions, and we think this trend will only continue to grow," said Chris Tama, president of Ferguson.

"The Ferguson OTC Center of Excellence is a direct reflection of our creative and strategic muscle. We have the advertising bravado and the scientific acumen to navigate the path along the Rx/OTC continuum," noted John Nosta, chief strategic officer.