ATKINS + ASSOCIATES PROMOTES TWO AND STRENGTHENS CLIENT ROSTER

Atkins + Associates, the largest public and investor relations agency in the West, announces two promotions and addition of six new clients.

SAN DIEGO, CA (PRWEB) June 5, 2003 -- Atkins + Associates, a public and investor relations consulting firm specializing exclusively in bio-business communications, today announced two management promotions. Pam Lord was named account supervisor and Penny Diloretto was named director of finance and administration.

"Penny and Pam have made outstanding contributions to the growth and well-being of Atkins + Associates," said Susan Atkins, president and CEO. "Their leadership has been inspirational to the staff and extremely valuable to our clients."

Pam Lord joined Atkins + Associates in September 2001 as senior account executive. She supervises account work and develops strategic media and investor relations campaigns to promote bio-businesses involved in the discovery and development of new biopharmaceutical products and technologies. Lords roster of clients includes Amylin Pharmaceuticals, CancerVax Corporation, MaxCyte, Nanogen, Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Quorex Pharmaceuticals, Santarus and Target Discovery. Previously, she represented high-tech clients at Eastwick Communications and was public relations manager for the San Francisco Ballet. Lord earned a B.A. in Communications from the University of California Santa Barbara.

Penny DiLoreto joined Atkins + Associates in May 2001 as staff accountant and was promoted to manager of finance in 2002. She oversees human resources, contracts, facilities, administration, accounting and finance for the agency that has averaged $2 million in annualized billings during her tenure. Prior to joining the agency, DiLoretto held the position of accountant for the law firm of Beatrice

Snider, which averaged over $10 million in annualized billings and was a business owner in Houston, TX.

Also announced today was the addition of six new clients. They include: Seattle Genetics, a public Seattle company focused on developing monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics; Favrille, a private San Diego biotech company producing idiotypic vaccines against certain cancers including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; Q3DM, a private San Diego company that provides innovative products and services in high throughput microscopy and cell-based imaging; Arcturus, a private Bay Area company developing and marketing microgenomic technology for the discovery of cell-specific molecular signatures; Juvaris BioTherapeutics, a private Bay Area company developing treatments for infectious diseases and cancer using lipid-DNA complexes; Chemical Diversity Labs, a private San Diego company providing global high-quality chemistry solutions for new lead discovery and optimization. The agency was also selected by the Biotechnology Industry Organization to coordinate all financial community outreach for BIO 2003, the worlds largest gathering of biotechnology executives.

"Being able to add new clients in this difficult market is a tribute to the great work of the team and the reputation we have established up and down the West Coast," according to Carin Canale, vice president, Atkins + Associates.

Atkins + Associates

Founded in 1999, Atkins + Associates is the largest agency in the West providing strategic public and investor relations exclusively for bio-businesses. The agency's targeted strategic programs help clients achieve business objectives such as an IPO, product launch, partnership agreement or additional financing by positioning clients in the minds of investors, venture capitalists, bankers, media, pharmaceutical partners, patients, healthcare professionals, and other important constituents. Atkins + Associates' client roster currently spans all biotech categories: public, private, therapeutics, tools, and medical devices. For more information, visit our web site at www.atkinsassociates.com