They’re back.

MM+M today announced the launch of the 2023 MM+M Awards. Now in its 20th year, the medical marketing industry’s premier awards program returns with a handful of new categories and expansions of existing ones.

The first entry deadline has been set at April 12, with each entry costing $475. Entries submitted before the final deadline of April 26 will cost $740.

This year’s winners will be revealed at the annual gala event scheduled for October 5 in New York City. MM+M will unveil the Awards shortlist on July 10.

The MM+M Awards have grown substantially, both in terms of the scope of work and individuals honored and the grandeur of the event itself, since they debuted in 2004. In 2015, the awards ceremony moved to Cipriani Wall Street to accommodate the 800-plus people it now routinely attracts.

“The MM+M Awards are an incredible labor of love for everybody at MM+M, and we take seriously the responsibility that comes with scrutinizing the work submitted for award consideration,” said MM+M editor-in-chief Larry Dobrow. “As for the event itself, it remains the medical marketing industry’s biggest – and most fun – night of the year. We look forward to everything that leads up to it.”

New categories for the 20th anniversary year of the Awards include health media agency of the year, health-tech innovation and patient education campaign.

For a category to be judged, it must have at least three entries. If there are two or fewer entries, there will be no award presented in that category. MM+M will refund all entry fees if a category is not judged.

As in years past, the MM+M Awards are open to agencies and their clients, production companies, studios, research firms and any other organization that produces or publishes medical marketing materials or content. Eligibility is limited to work created for North America, though international work will be considered if it includes a North American component and that component is submitted as part of the entry.

The 2023 MM+M Awards eligibility period runs from April 9, 2022, through April 26, 2023. Qualifying campaigns must have been active for at least part of the eligibility period but need not have been launched during it nor have run for the entirety of it. The eligibility period for new product launches runs from January 1, 2022, to April 20, 2023.