PPD Establishes Network of Sites for Conducting Phase I Trials in Patients

Offers clients superior quality, greater flexibility for delivery of Phase I trials

WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced it has established preferred provider relationships with a network of sites across North America for conducting Phase I trials in patients to meet growing client demand for these services.

“By choosing to build relationships with sites that have demonstrated superior quality and the ability to recruit for various patient populations, we provide our clients a very flexible model for patient enrollment, site location and therapeutic expertise.”

PPD has established relationships with Commonwealth Biomedical Research in Madisonville, Ky., CNS Network in Los Angeles and Lovelace Scientific Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lovelace Respiratory Research, in Albuquerque, N.M., Austin, Texas, and Sarasota, Fla.

The relationships increase PPD’s ability to recruit patients for Phase I trials across a broad range of therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, central nervous system, renal/hepatic disease and biologics. It also strengthens the company’s ability to deliver clients an integrated offering that spans preclinical, Phase I, data management and Phase II-IV clinical development and monitoring services.

“Patient volunteers currently account for approximately 40 percent of all participants in Phase I studies,” said Cindy Doerfler, vice president of PPD’s Phase I clinic. “By choosing to build relationships with sites that have demonstrated superior quality and the ability to recruit for various patient populations, we provide our clients a very flexible model for patient enrollment, site location and therapeutic expertise.”

Expanding its Phase I services allows PPD to work even more closely with clients in determining early proof-of-concept for compounds and biosimilars where drugs must go directly into patients. The company is hiring senior project managers in North America who will oversee the development of its networks and manage Phase I trials conducted through the sites. It plans to implement this model in other regions such as Central and Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific.

According to Jefferies & Company, Inc., the Phase I outsourcing market is estimated at $2.3 billion in 2010 with an expected compounded annual growth rate of 6 percent between 2010 and 2015. PPD already operates a 300-bed Phase I healthy volunteer clinic in Austin, Texas, which is one of the largest in the world.

PPD is a leading global contract research organization, celebrating 25 years of providing drug discovery, development and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 41 countries and more than 10,500 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their R&D investments. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com.

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release, including expectations and assumptions about the company’s preferred provider relationships for conducting Phase I trials in patients and its Phase I services, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors which could cause results to differ materially include the following: risks associated with and dependence on collaborative relationships; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government industry segments; competition within the outsourcing industry; rapid technological advances that make our services less competitive; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; success in sales growth; loss of large contracts; delays in and cancellations of significant projects; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for PPD, copies of which are available free of charge upon request from the PPD investor relations department.