We currently have the following vacancies at our office in Sevenoaks, Kent, UK, and are eager to talk to enthusiastic and talented people who would like to join the team.

• Director, Scientific Services
• Scientific Team Leader
• Account Manager
• Medical Writer
• Editor

Should you be interested in a role, we'd love to hear from you. Please send your CV or any requests for further information to Emma at enquiries@apothecomscopemedical.com.

In the name of Sport Relief… or as Matt and Edd now call it, Sport ‘lack-of’ Relief, two hairy lads volunteered for a session of leg waxing. Spurred on by everyone’s fervent cheers and the volunteers’ screams of pain, 30 wax strips successfully ripped every hair from Matt and Edd’s reluctant legs. This combined with a six-team strong Fuβball tournament, championed by Dan and Beth, contributed to a grand total of £159.23, smashing last year’s total. Thank you all for your generosity and enthusiasm for donating to such a worthy cause.

Last month for our quarterly company social everybody departed to Bowlplex for a spot of bowling and nibbles. The title of ‘Kingpin’ was hotly contested between Ian and Tiff, the latter with what can only be described as a truly unique style, but congratulations to Ian, successfully pipping Tiffany to the post by just one point with an impressive cumulative score of 267. All was not lost, though; Tiff redeemed herself by being part of the overall winning team. A big thank you to Emma who never fails to pick an activity that is right up everybody’s… alley.

In February this year our very own king of the dance floor Nason tied the knot with his partner Shirin in the private country estate of Larchfield in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Never to shy away from the spotlight, Nason and Shirin shared their first dance to the Irish classic Try a Little Tenderness, from The Commitments, surrounded by 120 of their nearest and dearest. Having just returned from their honeymoon in the beautiful Mousehole, Cornwall, spent eating ice cream and soaking up the niceties of the idyllic village, from everyone here we wish you both a very happy future together.

The luck of the Irish is with us! We extend our most sincere welcome to Kerry, another ex-Pfizer employee who joins our ranks as a Medical Writer. With an academic background in her homeland, Kerry gained her BSc in pharmacology from University College Dublin, and her PhD also in pharmacology at the University of Cambridge. At Pfizer Global Research & Development Kerry worked in the genitourinary and pain therapeutic areas as Senior Principal Scientist/Team Leader, leading drug discovery programmes. With family scattered all over the world, Kerry is a bit of a global jet setter having just returned from Fiji. Kerry is also a voluntary STEMNET ambassador, inspiring students into looking at careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

We would appreciate a few moments of your time to complete our short annual customer survey. This will assist us in evaluating the current level of service you are receiving from ApotheCom ScopeMedical and further enhance our 2012 performance. To this end, we have sent a brief questionnaire to all our current clients. Please contact emma.fancourt@apothecomscopemedical.com if you would like to receive a copy. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Please respond by 29 February 2012.

After returning to work from the Christmas period spent in Delhi with family, Shilpa had a fantastic announcement, a big smile on her face and a very beautiful ring (all the way from Dubai don’t you know!) on a special finger. Having received blessing from all their near and dear ones Shilpa and Sachin are looking to get married later in the year. From everyone here, congratulations on your engagement and wishing you both the very best for your future together.

It’s all baby talk here at the moment with the arrival of two beautiful boys into the world. Congratulations to Eleanor/Pete and Toby/Liz on the birth of their sons.

Eleanor and Pete’s son William Jack arrived on the 31st of October 2011 at 14.04, weighing in at 9 lbs 3 oz. More recently, Toby and Liz’s son Alexander James made an appearance at 3.34 on the 15^th of January 2012. Respective mothers, fathers and sons in tow are said to be doing well, if not a little tired!

Let’s hope the young lads make a visit to the office in the very near future; we are all dying to see them!

We would like to offer a very warm reception to Medical Writer Paul, who joins us from Pfizer after an 18-year spell. Graduating from the University of Nottingham in 1993 with a BSc in chemistry, Paul joined Pfizer straight out of the gate. Having held the position of Senior Principal Scientist and Medicinal Chemistry Team Leader, Paul has vast experience in many therapy areas, most recently focusing on the allergy and respiratory therapy areas, contributing to the discovery of potential new treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Paul’s pharma experience, attention to detail and scientific creativity will be an invaluable asset. Paul is quite the sportsman; in his spare time he coaches an under-9s football team, plays seven-a-side football, has recently started getting back into golf, and is a regular gym user to keep in shape, in his words, “…to justify going to nice restaurants”. Having such a keen sportsman will certainly keep everyone’s skills frosty at our Monday night football!

Last month Louise and crew headed a phenomenally successful meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with an attendance of over 200 delegates from as far as Peru and Venezuela. It is great to be working in this emerging market, where meetings of this size are less common. Taking advantage of the brilliant location, the team also took in Rio for a spot of sightseeing. Walking along Copacabana beach, and admiring the unmistakable Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado mountain; it doesn’t get much better than this! Well done Louise et al!

This year for the infamous annual Christmas party we all decanted to The Woodman at Ide Hill. Scrumptious food and drink were devoured culminating in many a full belly and loosened belt. The omnipresent secret Santa worked his magic, presenting a variety of wacky items including tattoo sleeves, turkey hats and a rather fetching Christmas tree costume. Moves were busted in our Christmas dance off, with Ian putting everyone to shame with his precise feet and unshakeable rhythm. Riffs were shredded on Guitar Hero; Frances rocking up a score even Jimi Hendricks would be proud of. A fantastic festive frolic was enjoyed by all; a stellar example of Emma’s flawless organisation skills and ingenious party ideas. A massive thank you for everyone’s efforts in making this such a memorable event!

We currently have the following vacancies at our office in Sevenoaks, Kent, UK, and are eager to talk to enthusiastic and talented people who would like to join the team:

Director, Client Services

Senior Account Director

Should you be interested in either role, we'd love to hear from you. Please send your CV or any requests for further information to Emma at enquiries@apothecomscopemedical.com.

This year we raised £140 in the name of the iconic Pudsey Bear for Children in Need. Everybody donned slippers for the duration of the day with the prize-winning pair belonging to Frances and her ‘cuddly lambs’. The bakers crafted a delicious selection of cookies, cakes, cupcakes, savoury snacks, and even those of us not accustomed to baking had a go, despite receiving mixed reviews! Congratulations to team ‘Maidchester’ (Tony, Maidstone and Sarah, Rochester) for winning the highly coveted ApoSM Fußball Tournament trophy and also to Tiffany for correctly guessing which cake Pudsey baked, walking away with a fabulous Pudsey mug. Last, but by no means least, well done to Jenny for correctly picking Pudsey’s lottery bonus ball, bagging the £20 prize which she selflessly donated to the very worthy cause. A massive thank you to all who participated and made this another cracking fundraiser.

After a month of looking like 1970’s detectives, cowboys and suave 1950’s movie stars (Errol Flynn springs to mind!), Movember has sadly come to a close. Admiringly reminiscing on a month of strange looks, double takes and the inevitable awkward question, “are you growing a moustache?”, it has been all worthwhile with a grand total of £690 raised for charity, smashing last Movember’s figure. Congratulations to all who bravely took part in the face of adversity, and thank you to everyone who generously donated and for all the support from fellow mo-bros and mo-sistas everywhere. Until next year!

Adrian (Director of Client Services) and Andy (Financial Controller) both joined the privileged and exclusive 5-year Club this month. During his time here Adrian has been an invaluable asset and fearless leader within our Client Services department with an enthusiasm for everything he partakes in that cannot help but bolster everyone around him. Helming the Finance department, Andy has gone from strength to strength in recent years; a rock for all to depend on regarding financial matters and a top dancer at every social event! In their honour a lavish pizza lunch and refreshments were quaffed by all. Here’s to another fantastic 5 years. Cheers!