Altum Continues Fast-Paced Growth.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- Altum, a CommonHealth freestanding, full-service professional healthcare advertising and promotion company focused on high-science and specialty markets, today announced seven new hires.

CommonHealth (www.commonhealth.com) is the world's leading healthcare-communications network and a WPP Group (NASDAQ/ADR: WPPGY; www.wpp.com) company.

Jerry Fishlin joins Altum as senior vice president, director of client services. Mr. Fishlin will be responsible for the agency's ongoing client activities and will handle new business initiatives for the unit. Mr. Fishlin brings to Altum more than 20 years of experience in biotechnology, with a focus in the oncology market. Most recently, Mr. Fishlin held the position of senior vice president, account services at Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare, a professional healthcare advertising agency in New York City.

Norman Nagl, Ph.D., comes to Altum as scientific communications director. In this position, Dr. Nagl will interpret, verify and develop scientific content for internal and external projects, as well as serve as an educational resource for both clients and staff members. With a doctorate degree in molecular biology and genetics, Dr. Nagl has extensive experience in basic science and the clinical pathology of cancer. Prior to joining Altum, Dr. Nagl was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Temple University School of Medicine, located in Philadelphia.

Margaret Kale joins Altum as vice president, account supervisor. In this role, Ms. Kale will oversee the daily activities for her assigned brands, manage and assist internal team members, develop innovative solutions for clients' needs and contribute to new business opportunities. Previously, Ms. Kale was an account supervisor at Nelson Communications in New York City, a Publicis Healthcare Communications Group company, where she acquired eight years of healthcare industry experience.

Michele Liccone comes to Altum as an account supervisor. In this position, she will lead the strategic and tactical initiatives for her brands and supervise internal team members. Most recently, Ms. Liccone was employed as a senior account executive at HealthStar Advertising, a professional healthcare agency in Woodbridge.

Jennifer Dierks joins Altum as a senior account executive. Ms. Dierks will be responsible for the launch of a new breakthrough oncology product, both within the United States and globally. Prior to joining Altum, Ms. Dierks was employed at Integrated Communications, a professional healthcare advertising agency in Parsippany.

Erin Ramos comes to Altum as a senior art director. In this position, Ms. Ramos will be responsible for concept development, implementation and management of art for her assigned brands. Previously, Ms. Ramos was a freelance art director positions at Altum's sister agency, Adient, and at other area healthcare-communications companies.

Amy Knierim joins Altum as editorial supervisor. Ms. Knierim will manage the editorial department, supervise the day-to-day work of Altum editors and work directly on client accounts. Most recently, Ms. Knierim held the position of editorial group supervisor at Cline, Davis & Mann, a professional healthcare agency in New York City.

CommonHealth comprises Altum, Adient, Carbon, Conectics, Ferguson, HLS, MBS/Vox, Noesis, ProCom, Qi, Quantum, Solara and Xchange. The organization also maintains numerous partnerships both within and outside of the WPP Group network of companies.