DRUG DISCOVERY COMPANY SETS UP IN COPENHAGEN

Amarican PPD announces worldwide expansion and sets up an office in Copenhagen

North Carolina-based drug discovery firm PPD Inc has announced the opening of an office in Copenhagen, which is centre of one of Europe's strongest life science clusters "Medicon Valley", writes the newsletter IPA World.

The company also opens offices in Sedney, Australia; Lisbon, Portugal; and Lima, Peru, reflecting continued expansion of its Phase II-IV services in key therapeutic areas.

The four new offices expand the company's international footprint for delivering clinical services in response to increasing client demand. With an office in Melbourne, Sydney is PPD's second location in Australia. Offices in Copenhagen, Lisbon and Lima launch PPD's physical presence in those countries.

"With the biopharmaceutical industry increasingly relying on outsourcing, these new offices are important to our strategic growth in areas where there is high demand for our global experience and therapeutic expertise," said Fred Eshelman, Chief Executive Officer of PPD.

PPD is an international provider of drug discovery and development services, PPD's contract research organisation (CRO) segment offers clinical testing, laboratory services, clinical trial, and data management plus regulatory consulting. Customers include many of the world's top 50 drug firms. PPD operates worldwide, but the US accounts for most of the company's sales.