PPD Laboratories Opens Central Lab in Shanghai, China

Provides clients with broad range of standardized lab testing services and capabilities

WILMINGTON, N.C. (April 20, 2015) – Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC (PPD) has opened a central laboratory in Shanghai, China, to deliver global scientific and technical laboratory expertise to meet growing client demand for these services in China. The new facility, which has been established in association with Shanghai Clinical Research Center (SCRC), is equipped with cutting-edge analytical equipment to provide high-quality data across a wide range of technologies and applications for all phases of pharmaceutical development.

The central lab service offering of PPD^® Laboratories includes safety and general lab testing, specialized testing, biomarker testing, and custom assay development and testing services. This new operation provides the same services as PPD’s other central labs in Brussels, Belgium; Highland Heights, Kentucky; and Singapore. All of PPD’s central labs use identical testing platforms, calibrators and reagents for all laboratory assays. In addition, the same lot numbers of standards for calibration are used across all labs, ensuring identical results regardless of where testing is performed.

“Our global network of central labs is committed to bringing value across the product development continuum,” said Andrew Cunningham, Ph.D., vice president of global laboratory services at PPD. “We deliver world-class scientific expertise, innovative platforms, flexible service models and operational efficiencies to ensure successful execution across every step of the development process. The standardized, global platforms and Web-based database of our central labs ensure superior service, quality data, and exceptional speed and flexibility for our clients.”

The Shanghai laboratory leverages PPD’s 30 years of global laboratory expertise, broad therapeutic experience, and state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation in delivering best-in-class laboratory services for its clients.

The new facility is accredited via SCRC’s medical license issued by China’s Ministry of Health, as well as the College of American Pathologists, NGSP and ISO 15189 certifications—all of which are crucial to conducting clinical trials in China successfully.

In addition to central labs, PPD Laboratories also includes: good manufacturing practices (GMP) labs in Athlone, Ireland, and Middleton, Wisconsin; bioanalytical labs in Middleton and Richmond, Virginia; and vaccine sciences labs in Richmond and Wayne, Pennsylvania. PPD also has strong clinical development expertise, which is supported by 20 facilities throughout the Asia Pacific region.

About PPD
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 46 countries and more than 13,500 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.

PPD Forward-Looking Statement
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions, including statements, expectations and assumptions about the opening of its central laboratory in Shanghai, China, contained in this news release 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 and could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other important factors that could cause future results to differ materially include the following: risks associated with acquisitions and investments; the ability to attract, integrate, retain and train key personnel; competition in the outsourcing industry; rapid technological advances that make our services or capabilities less competitive; compliance with drug development regulations; changes in the regulation of the drug development process; PPD’s ability to win new business; overall global economic conditions; economic conditions, research and development spending, and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and government-sponsored research sectors; consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; loss, delay or modification of large contracts; higher-than-expected cancellation rates; the rate of conversion of backlog into revenue; risks associated with and dependence on strategic relationships; actual operating performance; and the ability to control SG&A spending. PPD assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update these forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing PPD’s estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

Contacts
PPD Media:
Randy Buckwalter
+1 919 456 4425
[email protected]

PPD Investors:
Nate Speicher
+1 910 558 6783
[email protected]