Encorium Group, Inc. Announces $2.5 Million of Awarded New Business Contracts With Multiple European and U.S. Biopharmaceutical Companies

WAYNE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Encorium Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENCO), a full-service multinational contract research organization (CRO) that provides design, development, and management capabilities for clinical trials and patient registries to many of the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, today announced it has been awarded new business contracts with multiple European and U.S. biopharmaceutical companies that have an aggregate value of approximately $2.5 million. The therapeutic areas included in these awards are infectious diseases, immunology/vaccines, cardiovascular diseases, dermatology, and metabolic disorders. Services to be provided include project management, field monitoring, medical monitoring/writing, and oversight of Independent Data Monitoring Committees. Revenue recognition for many of these contracts began in the current first quarter with the remainder expected to begin in the second quarter of 2008. Revenue recognition will occur on a proportional performance basis as services are performed on each project.

Kenneth M. Borow, M.D., Encorium Group’s President and Chief Medical and Strategic Development Officer commented, “These contracts with numerous European and U.S. biopharmaceutical companies continue to strengthen Encorium’s experience base across a wide variety of therapeutic areas. We anticipate releasing multiple additional new business announcements over the next several weeks as verbally awarded contracts are converted into signed business.”

Kai Lindevall, M.D., Ph.D., Encorium’s Chief Executive Officer stated, “These awards clearly show that our strategy of providing value added services to the biopharmaceutical industry is starting to show positive results. In many of these instances, we have been able to achieve important consultative relationships with the program sponsors. Our determination is to further develop our service offerings and expand our geographic footprint in order to become a leading service provider to the biopharmaceutical industry.”

About Encorium Group, Inc.

Encorium Group, Inc. is a global clinical research organization specializing in the design and management of complex clinical trials and Patient Registries for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The Company’s mission is to provide its clients with high quality, full-service support for their biopharmaceutical and medical device development programs. Encorium offers therapeutic expertise, experienced team management and advanced technologies. The Company has drug and biologics development as well as clinical trial experience across a wide variety of therapeutic areas such as infectious diseases, cardiovascular, vaccines, oncology, diabetes endocrinology/metabolism, gene therapy, immunology, neurology, gastroenterology, dermatology, hepatology, women’s health and respiratory medicine. Encorium believes that its expertise in the design of complex clinical trials, its therapeutic experience and commitment to excellence, and its application of innovative technologies, offer its clients a means to more quickly and cost effectively move products through the clinical development process. Encorium is headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania with its European base of operations in Espoo, Finland. The Company has a geographic footprint that includes over one billion people in North America, Western/Central/Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the Baltics.

This press release contains forward-looking statements identified by words such as “estimate,” “project,” “expect,” “intend,” “believe,” “anticipate” and similar expressions. Actual results might differ materially from those projected in, expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company's future operating results and financial condition include, without limitation: (i) our success in attracting new business and retaining existing clients and projects; (ii) the size, duration, and timing of clinical trials we are currently managing may change unexpectedly; (iii) the termination, delay or cancellation of clinical trials we are currently managing could cause revenues and cash-on-hand to decline unexpectedly; (iv) the timing difference between our receipt of contract milestone or scheduled payments and our incurring costs to manage these trials; (v) outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries; (vi) the ability to maintain profit margins in a competitive marketplace; (vii) our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; (viii) the sensitivity of our business to general economic conditions; (ix) other economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices; (x) announced awards received from existing and potential customers are not definitive until fully negotiated contracts are executed by the parties;(xi) our backlog may not be indicative of future revenues and may not generate the revenues expected;(xii) our ability to successfully integrate the businesses of Encorium and Remedium Oy which we acquired on November 1, 2006; and (xiii) the performance of the combined business to operate successfully and generate growth. You should not place any undue reliance on these forward looking statements which speak only as of the date of this press release. Additional information concerning factors that might affect our business or stock price which could cause actual results to materially differ from those in forward-looking statements is contained in Encorium Group's SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and other periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request from Encorium Group's investor relations department or The Equity Group, Inc.