The annual PharmaTimes Marketer of the Year and Communications Team of the Year awards ceremonies took place last night at the Tower Hotel London, with a special addition for this year – the PharmaTimes Sales Awards.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of PharmaTimes Marketer of the Year, which portrayed just how much enthusiasm and passion there is for the competition.

The Communications Team of the Year competition also celebrated a ground-breaking year with more companies than ever before getting involved, as well as offering a wider range of categories to take part in and a higher number of entries in total.

In a first for the Sales Awards, which were a welcome inclusion on the night, this year's competition included a new judging format allowing direct feedback from the healthcare professionals who interact with the nominated sales professionals on a regular basis, alongside live challenges and a written test.

Dr Hilary Jones from ‘Good Morning Britain’ did a fantastic job of hosting the event, and was ably assisted by “Voice of the Balls” Alan Dedicoat, who revealed the talented individuals and teams taking part in the competition as well as category judges.

One of the highlights of the evening was when Dr Jones interviewed 18 year-old Hasna Virk - who gave an insight into the journey of a patient with Cystic Fibrosis - from diagnosis to ongoing management and what may lie ahead.

Luke Squires, director of fundraising at Bowel Cancer UK, handed over the award for the new Communications Team of the Year - Charity challenge to winners Pegasus.

Leanne Thorndyke, head of Marketing and Communications at Bowel Cancer UK, said: “We were thrilled to be chosen as the charity partner for PharmaTimes Media’s 2018 Communications Team of the Year competition. We are so grateful to all of the agencies who entered and put real time, effort and enthusiasm into their pitches. There were some great ideas and the day proved really valuable giving us lots of food for thought to help raise the profile of the charity and awareness of bowel cancer – the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.”

It was also a successful night for ‘Thornton & Ross’ who took home the Company of the Year award for their cumulative efforts throughout the Marketer of the Year competition.

Click here to see the full list of Marketer of the Year award winners.

Click here to see the full list of Communications Team of the Year award winners.

Click here to see the full list of Sales Awards winners.

PharmaTimes competition lead Anna Yeardley said: "The awards ceremony was a great success and PharmaTimes can’t wait for next year to see what next level of talent and passion gets showcased while we celebrate the best the industry has to offer."

PharmaTimes would like to thank the sponsors for their support, commitment, and generosity as well as all the judges and steering group committees for their help and dedication to the competitions – and not to forget the finalists and winners for their continued efforts and tenacity.

Next year's competition is being developed now - so if you or your company would like to get involved please contact Anna Yeardley or Luci Sargood for more information.