Erinn White Joins HealthSTAR Public Relations, LLC as Executive Vice President/General Manager

Business Wire, Sept 29, 2003

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 2003

White Brings 12 Years of Healthcare Communications Expertise

Honed at Ketchum and GCI

HealthSTAR Public Relations, LLC today announced that Erinn White has joined the company as Executive Vice President/General Manager. Joining Helene Ellison, President and CEO, on the senior management team, her responsibilities will include providing strategic counsel, ensuring the highest level of client service and agency management.

HealthSTAR Public Relations is part of the HealthSTAR Communications network, one of the largest such networks in the world. Its sixteen integrated and complementary divisions provide a comprehensive portfolio of traditional and unique services. The HealthSTAR companies have worked with over 95 different pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturers representing over 200 brands.

"To say that we are excited to have Erinn join our new company would be an understatement," said HealthSTAR Public Relations President and Chief Executive Officer Helene Ellison. "Erinn has a track record of excellence in the increasingly complicated and demanding field of pharmaceutical PR. She has led communications programs for products in all phases of development, including pre-approval market conditioning, product launches, mature product support and disease awareness programs. Her skill set is exactly what we were looking for to take HealthSTAR PR to the next level."

Erinn has been in the public relations/communications business for more than a dozen years, working with companies such as Hoffmann-La Roche, Genentech, Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Aventis, UCB Pharma and Procter & Gamble. Her therapeutic expertise covers such areas as neurology and dermatology, diagnostics, oncology, skin care, and women's health. A graduate of the University of Missouri Journalism School, Erinn started her career as a health and science newspaper reporter.

White most recently served as Vice President/Group Manager at Ketchum, and previously as Vice President at GCI Group Healthcare, where she spent most of her early career.

"I believe my new position at HealthSTAR is an incredible opportunity to provide a different offering to clients - media relations as part of an integrated offering," said White. "Successful PR programs must allow for the airing of healthcare issues in the public domain, and this should include consideration for all stakeholders - patients, physicians, media, government, private payers and managed care. HealthSTAR PR will provide clients with this multi-dimensional counsel."

HealthSTAR Public Relations specializes in driving stakeholder awareness and advocacy through national, local, consumer, business and professional media to enhance corporate and brand share-of-voice with commercial impact. As an integrated entity, the HealthSTAR PR model relies on coordination with cross-functional client and agency teams to leverage clinical, regulatory, medical marketing and promotional milestones - measurably and cost-effectively.

HealthSTAR PR is unique in its approach to earned media, calling for:

-- Streamlined messaging to ensure that communications in

"non-paid" media support and reinforce "paid" media;

-- Fully integrated team work among marketing, clinical, and

product PR teams to capitalize on investments in thought

leaders, third-party organizations, events and patient

outcomes without duplication of effort;

-- National and local earned media programming services similar

to and compatible with media buying strategies; and

-- Direct-response systems to ensure measurable results locally

and nationally.

Earned media campaigns have yielded advertising equivalencies of $200 million and 25% favorable and unaided consumer brand awareness.

About HealthSTAR Communications

HealthSTAR Communications is one of the largest healthcare marketing services networks in the industry. Its sixteen integrated and complementary divisions provide a comprehensive portfolio of traditional and unique services. The HealthSTAR companies have worked with over 95 different pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturers representing over 207 brands. HealthSTAR's mission is to significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare communications. HealthSTAR offers a full range of marketing services to reach and communicate with all of the stakeholders in healthcare: providers, consumers, purchasers and managers. The company is privately held and is based in Woodbridge, NJ. Learn more about HealthSTAR Communications at www.healthstarCOM.com.

For further information or a photo, please call Helene Ellison, President and CEO, HealthSTAR Public Relations, at 201-741-4802 or hellison@healthstarcom.com.