Lane Earl Cox announces takeover by OPEN Health

Lane Earl Cox has been acquired by OPEN Health, the channel and discipline-neutral healthcare communications agency founded earlier this year.

The takeover will see the company being rebranded as OPEN LEC, with former Lane Earl Cox managing director Matthew Baker becoming an OPEN Health partner and the managing director of the new-look agency.

Lane Earl Cox has grown into one of Europe's leading communications agencies, running campaigns for products such as Lipitor, Aricept, Prozac and Vioxx.

Mike Lane, the company's co-founder, said the acquisition will allow it to benefit from OPEN Health's extensive expertise in medical education, PR and market research.

"We are absolutely delighted that LEC will become part of OPEN Health … In essence, we've taken something strong and just made it stronger," he said.

The firm was originally founded in 1993 and recently appointed Jack Dolan as its head of veterinary health, in response to the rapid growth of its animal health business.