AUSTIN, TX — The Next Practice Group and The Bliss Group have partnered to create NPG Health, a life sciences marketing and communications collective. NPG Health will launch alongside its first firm, Bliss Bio Health, a new life sciences marketing and communications company headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. Industry veteran Gloria Vanderham will lead both NPG Health and Bliss Bio Health as CEO. Most recently, Vanderham was based in Basel, Switzerland where she was regional head of communications for Europe at Novartis AG.

LOS ANGELES — The Axis Agency has launched Brand + Diversity Consulting, a strategic consulting practice dedicated to helping brands solve equity gaps that affect multicultural populations. BDC will specialize in healthcare, finance, and education sectors, where the need is great. BDC’s team of marketing and cultural experts, along with an advisory board, will work with brands to bridge divides that have historically kept communities of color from equal opportunities. BDC will work with clients to develop actionable corporate comments that engage, elevate and empower communities of color.

NEW YORK — Evins Communications has acquired Teuwen Communications, adding expertise in serving the wine and spirits sector. The acquisition will accelerate Evins’ commitment to providing clients with PR and marketing campaigns that win consumer, trade and media attention while delivering business value.

NEW YORK — Issues Management Group (IMG) has formally launched Issues Management Group New York, signaling the expansion of the Boston-based strategic communications firm across the Northeast. IMG NY is led by managing director Maddie Clair. The office’s team is focused on shaping stories and leveraging relationships to successfully navigate the complex media, political, and regulatory environments across the greater NYC metropolitan area, New York State, Connecticut, and Western New England.

WASHINGTON — Glen Echo Group and Bowie State University, Maryland’s oldest HBCU, have formed a partnership centered around fostering professional connections and career development for students in BSU’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter, which sits within the university’s Communications Department. The two keystone initiatives of the partnership’s inaugural year include a scholarship fund for student participation in the international PRSSA ICON 2022 conference, and an on-campus networking event to provide individualized resume and career guidance to students. Glen Echo Group, a Washington-based women-led public affairs firm centered on the day’s most pressing technology policy challenges, will support BSU students’ further exposure to the communications field.