WeissComm Partners Adds New Clients and Expands Staff to Meet Growing Business Needs

SAN FRANCISCO, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissComm Partners, a rapidly growing communications agency solely focused on the healthcare industry, today announced the addition of multiple new clients, including Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Cardica, Inc. and Iomai Corporation. The firm has also hired four new Associates, including Elizabeth Falcone, Karen Halsey, Lori Murray and Tracy Naden, who bring deep industry experience to the agency's growing roster of product and corporate communications business.

"These new client assignments, which closely follow other recent large product and corporate communications wins, represent how WeissComm combines creative, strategic thinking with practical, sound results-oriented execution," said Diane Weiser, chief operating officer. "We are keeping pace with our growing business by strengthening our team of senior, experienced professionals in San Francisco and New York, doubling our staff over the past year, and bringing on experts in growing areas of our business, including consumer health communications."

WeissComm is providing corporate communications, investor relations and/or product PR support for:

  -- Threshold Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical  company focused on the
     discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule
     therapeutics for benign prostatic hyperplasia and cancer;
  -- Cardica, which designs manufactures and commercializes proprietary
     automated anastomotic systems used by surgeons to perform coronary
     artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery; and
  -- Iomai Corporation, which
     discovers and develops vaccines and immune system stimulants,
     delivered via a novel, needle-free technology called transcutaneous
     immunization.

  New Hires Strengthen Product and Corporate Communications Offering

The addition of Falcone, Halsey, Murray and Naden will further strengthen WeissComm's pharmaceutical product communications offering as they bring extensive experience in this area to the agency:

  -- Elizabeth Falcone has developed marketing communications campaigns for
     a variety of pharmaceutical, healthcare and non-profit clients during
     the past 10 years.  Prior to joining WeissComm, she served as an
     independent communications consultant in Pittsburgh, providing
     strategic counsel and media relations strategy and support to a number
     of healthcare clients and as a correspondent for several trade
     publications.  Previously, Ms. Falcone was public relations manager at
     the healthcare technology start-up Sentillion, and held positions in
     the healthcare practices at Ruder Finn and Hill & Knowlton.  She
     graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in government
     and international relations.

  -- Karen Halsey, a 15-year industry veteran, has extensive oncology,
     cardiology, neurology, anti-infectives and diagnostic and device
     experience.  As an account supervisor at Ketchum Public Relations, she
     supported Genentech's oncology products Rituxan, Herceptin and
     Pulmozyme as well as its corporate community relations programs.  Ms.
     Halsey received a B.S. in communications from California State
     University, Sonoma, and an M.S. in public relations from Golden Gate
     University.

  -- Lori Murray brings broad healthcare communications experience to
     WeissComm Partners, including experience in product and corporate
     communications, media relations, public affairs, community relations
     and clinical trial recruitment.  Prior to joining WeissComm, she led
     the Global Product Public Relations department for Applied Biosystems,
     a life sciences research tools company, and was responsible for global
     public relations strategy and program execution. Ms. Murray holds a
     B.A. in rhetoric and communications from the University of California,
     Davis.

  -- Tracy Naden has extensive experience managing integrated consumer
     health marketing campaigns, as well as expertise in strategic
     partnerships, media relations, special event planning and sports and
     grassroots marketing.  Prior to WeissComm, she was a vice president at
     Fleishman-Hillard in New York, where she served as senior manager on
     the Forest Laboratories' account, playing an integral role in the
     approval and launch of Namenda for Alzheimer's disease.  At Weber
     Shandwick, she implemented several consumer-branding and communications
     programs for clients, including the "got milk?" campaign for the
     National Milk Processor and American Dairy Associations.  Ms. Naden
     graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in journalism in
     1996.

  About WeissComm Partners

WeissComm Partners is a full-service agency focused exclusively on serving the corporate and product communications needs of leading biotechnology, pharmaceutical, device and diagnostic companies. At WeissComm, senior counselors comprise a client's everyday team. These seasoned professionals have experience both in-house and at leading global public relations agencies. They specialize in healthcare marketing, corporate and product PR, IR and advocacy relations, and have particular expertise in grassroots direct-to-patient PR programs, particularly when used to expedite clinical trial recruitment. WeissComm serves clients through offices in San Francisco and New York and through a global alliance with U.K.-based Resolute Communications Ltd. WeissComm was ranked among the top independent agencies for all categories in PR Week's 2004 agency rankings. http://www.weisscommpartners.com/.