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PPD Significantly Expands Network of Investigators in Northern India

^{Published on 2010-10-25 13:35:40 - Market Wire}
 

WILMINGTON, N.C.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced it has established an agreement with the Himalayan Institute and Hospital Trust (HIHT University), a large teaching hospital in northern India, to create a large investigator site to expand its network of highly qualified investigators in a region that has become increasingly important for conducting global clinical trials.

"Expanding our access to highly trained investigators provides our clients a strong advantage for conducting clinical trials in a region that is seeing strong growth for clinical research and development."

The agreement will provide biopharmaceutical companies access to large patient populations and a group of investigators who can manage clinical trials in accordance with ICH/GCP guidelines, considerations for establishing an investigator, or partner, site. The site will reduce time to approval, promote quality research and create greater cost efficiencies in drug development.

The university has a 750-bed, multispecialty tertiary care hospital that offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in medicine. The outpatient department treats approximately 1,500 patients daily with an average inpatient occupancy of 86 percent. The hospital provides care in the areas of oncology, cardiology, respiratory, dermatology, nephrology, neurology, urology, orthopedics, plastic surgery, pediatrics, anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, psychiatry and otolaryngology. It is the largest postgraduate institute in the northern state of Uttarakhand.

aIndiaa™s large patient population makes it an important country for us to continue to expand our investigative sites,a said Simon Britton, PPDa™s vice president of clinical development for Asia Pacific. aExpanding our access to highly trained investigators provides our clients a strong advantage for conducting clinical trials in a region that is seeing strong growth for clinical research and development.a

Shri Vijay Dhasmana, vice chancellor of HIHT University, added, aThe collaboration between PPD and HIHT will help bring more global clinical research into this region. Our faculty will have an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge global research, and patients will benefit by having access to the latest available therapies.a

PPD will develop the site by providing infrastructure support and exclusive training for site staff and estimates that partner sites could account for a significant percentage of sites and patients for any given study.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, clinical trials in India are expected to grow at 25-30 percent annually. Locating clinical trials in India can potentially reduce patient enrollment time by as much as 30 percent.

PPD has a large presence in India with offices in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi and more than 1,400 employees throughout Asia Pacific.

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 42 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 agreement with Himalayan Institute and Hospital Trust and its contributions to PPD, 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; competition within the outsourcing industry; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government industry segments; success in sales growth; loss of or delay large contracts; increased cancellation rates; the ability to attract and retain sites and key personnel; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; 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.