MCS is pleased to announce three promotions in the month of April!

Eliot Harrison moves from Account Supervisor to Director of Client Services; Jennifer McGuire moves from Senior Account Executive to Account Supervisor; and Alanna Jamieson moves from Account Executive to Senior Account Executive.

“MCS places great emphasis on developing the skills of our staff with the goal of optimizing service to our clients,” said Joe Boyd, CEO of MCS Healthcare Public Relations.  “As they take on increasing responsibilities in their new roles, Eliot, Jennifer and Alanna will continue to achieve our clients’ goals with the level of quality that MCS has provided for the past 25 years.”

MCS has teamed up with JMB Consulting to offer a unique new service for healthcare executives that incorporates investor, corporate and product communications support.

Today’s healthcare environment demands that executives communicate e­ffectively to a variety of audiences. With a combined 85 years of pharmaceutical investor relations and product communications experience, we can provide solutions to some of the most critical communications issues. Are you prepared to deliver strategic messages that help generate a return on your investment?

MCS Healthcare Public Relations Launches New Strategic Communications Service for Health Care Executives

A Uniquely Integrated Approach to Executive Coaching That Offers Custom Solutions for Investor, Corporate and Product Communications Needs

BEDMINSTER, NJ, April 6, 2010 – MCS Healthcare Public Relations today announced that it has launched a new strategic communications training program for senior-level executives within the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.  MCS has teamed up with investor relations pro Janet Barth of JMB Consulting to develop this uniquely integrated approach that offers custom solutions to investor, corporate and product communications needs.

The new MCS strategic communications program will provide solutions to some of the most critical issues that “C”-level executives face in today’s highly competitive market, including development and delivery of consistent messages that effectively engage and inform audiences ranging from the financial and medical communities to government and regulatory authorities.

Barth is a 19-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry with extensive experience in all phases of corporate, financial and investor communications. In her most recent role as Vice President of Investor Relations at Schering-Plough Corporation, she led the company’s global investor relations program and partnered with the executive management team on all matters pertaining to the financial community up until its planned merger with Merck in November 2009. Barth has been a member of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) since 1996 and currently serves as president-elect of the Virtual Chapter, the second largest NIRI chapter.

“An integrated communications approach is so critical when an executive is seeking to attract financial capital, build and protect a corporate reputation or launch a new brand,” said Janet Barth, Principal, JMB Consulting. “Today’s health care environment demands that industry executives remain consistent, responsive and credible when addressing a variety of different audiences that are important to their company.”

The collaborative program between MCS and JMB Consulting represents a combined 85 years of investor relations and product communications experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Joining Barth from MCS are Jeff Hoyak, President; Todd Forte, Executive Vice President; and Carol Cartwright, Vice President.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to work with Janet, a highly respected industry expert in high-level communications,” said Jeff Hoyak, President, MCS Healthcare Public Relations. “Her solid background in pharmaceutical IR coupled with the MCS team’s expertise in corporate and product communications and media relations has resulted in a superb combination with the chemistry and capacity to produce a return on investment for executives who employ this new service.”

For more information about scheduling a customized session that fits your unique communications needs, contact Jeff Hoyak at (908) 234-9900 or jeffh@mcspr.com.

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About MCS Healthcare Public Relations

MCS is an independent, award-winning health care communications agency recognized for its strategic focus, creativity and knowledge of issues affecting the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Located in the heart of Somerset County, NJ, MCS is less than 15 miles from eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world, and is within 40 miles of 33 of the top 50. For the last 25 years, MCS has worked with many of the world’s leading health care companies and has conducted public relations programs in virtually every therapeutic category. MCS is located in Bedminster, NJ. For more information, please visit www.mcspr.com.

About JMB Consulting

JMB Consulting tailors investor relations and communications programs to meet individual company needs, conducting both ongoing, full-service programs as well as strategic communications projects.

Sarah Morgan, Director of Client Services here at MCS, was recently featured in the publication Medical Marketing & Media in an article called “Will social networks produce ROI?”.  Sarah was one of four industry experts on social media consulted for the article, which ran in MM&M’s January issue.

Her commentary offered insight on striking the perfect balance with one’s involvement in social media, maintaining perspective on this exploding new form of communication’s  role in the larger picture, and giving due diligence to metrics in such a new media space.

Click here to read the entire article: http://www.mmm-online.com/will-social-networks-produce-roi/article/160453/

Due in large part to Sarah’s expertise, social media has become an increasingly important focus at MCS because, as she put it, “Social media is worth its weight in buzz.” Please keep in touch with MCS, on Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook!

For the 8^th consecutive year, MCS is proudly providing PR support to Oral Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (OHANCAW) on behalf of our client Head and Neck Cancer Alliance (HNCA), a national nonprofit group dedicated to the prevention, early detection and research of head and neck cancers.  The HNCA is sponsoring the 13^th annual OHANCAW nationwide April 12-18, 2010.

In addition to its primary mission of promoting awareness of head and neck cancer and providing free cancer screenings and other activities the HNCA is this year endeavoring to educate the public on a newly emerging risk factor associated with these cancers.  Citing the now well-established link between oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cancers of the tongue, throat and tonsils, the HNCA has expanded its list of at-risk populations for these cancers to include sexually active adults who engage in common sexual behaviors, such as open-mouth kissing and oral sex. Tobacco and alcohol use continue to be major risk factors for cancers of the oral cavity, head and neck.

More than 140 sites nationwide will offer free oral, head and neck cancer screenings to the public during OHANCAW 2010.  More information about head and neck cancer, OHANCAW, the free screenings and other activities can be found at www.OHANCAW.com.

Click the image below to watch video:

MCS conducted media relations for MannKind Corporation at the American Diabetes Association’s 69th Scientific Sessions in June 2009, where Phase III data was being presented for MannKind’s lead investigational product, AFRESA® – a novel, ultra-rapid-acting insulin for patients with diabetes.

MCS’ challenge was to seize the spotlight from other significant ADA news, including major, controversial clinical trials, in an effort to help build awareness of AFRESA within the diabetes community. To ensure that MannKind was one of the meeting’s top newsmakers, MCS maximized the opportunity afforded by the 11 AFRESA abstracts that were accepted for ADA. Highlighting AFRESA’s novel attributes, MCS developed press materials and conducted media relations to secure eight interviews for MannKind executives and positive coverage in dozens of top mainstream, trade and social media outlets, including CNBC, Review of Endocrinology and the blog Diabetes Mine.

In May 2009, MCS helped its client Qforma, an advanced analytics and predictive modeling company, launch a database called Most Influential Doctors (MID), presented by USA TODAY, the nation’s number-one newspaper. MID is a first-of-its-kind online database that directs consumers to the top 3 to 5 physicians for treating chronic conditions in virtually every U.S. region. These physicians are objectively identified through advanced data analysis as the community medical leaders whom other health providers seek out for insight on new therapies and medical approaches. The goal of MID is to empower consumers to make more informed decisions about their healthcare. MCS’ goal was to extend MID and Qforma messaging to consumer and trade audiences, nationally and locally. MCS employed numerous tactics that resulted in widespread coverage, reaching an audience of over 6.4 million, plus the 4 billion daily visitors to the 188 media web sites where the Qforma/MID press release was posted. Starting with a front-page story in USA Today, coverage included top trade publications such as Medical Marketing & Media, and also dozens of local outlets such as The Arizona Republic that profiled the MIDs in their communities, giving grassroots momentum to this initiative.