CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Instem, a leading provider of early drug development software solutions, announced today the establishment of an office in Shanghai to provide local customer support, service delivery, client management, development and sales support to the Chinese pharmaceutical and wider life sciences R&D market.

As China competes with other emerging countries and positions itself to be one of the largest markets by 2020, the Chinese government has substantially increased its R&D budget for their local pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, the cost of preclinical research is about one-third of the US and Europe, which is attracting many foreign organizations and stimulating both domestic and inward investment to establish new facilities throughout the country.

“Instem was the first western Toxicology/Pathology software supplier to enter the Chinese market and we have added 3 new clients in just the last 12 months,” states Phil Reason, CEO at Instem. “To deliver the exceptional client experience and meet the demand in China during this period of national growth, we believe a local Instem office and team was necessary. I’m very encouraged by the support we are receiving from industry and the Chinese government, and aim to be the supplier of choice and partner for every preclinical facility within China.”

Newly appointed to the position of General Manager in charge of Asian Operations, Ms. Penny Stockley is managing the locally hired Instem staff and overseeing all Asian-Pacific activities out of the new offices. Well respected in the market and a 20-year veteran at Instem, Penny has recently relocated to Shanghai and will continue to forge strong relationships within industry and government while ensuring client success.

The new offices of Instem are located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in the Pudong area of Shanghai; home to local and international pharmaceutical organizations such as the National Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and AstraZeneca. Instem is planning a grand opening ceremony in early 2010 extending invitations to clients, vendors and government officials.

In addition to traditional on-site deployments, Instem will be providing access to its software application over the Internet from a Shanghai-based data center. Professionally managed and recognized as a premier Tier 3 facility, the data center will enable Instem to deliver its Provantis™ preclinical solution as an all inclusive service to laboratories of any size with the highest levels of security, performance and support.

Instem solutions are also distributed and supported through a full service office in Tokyo, Japan by CTCLS, one of Japan’s leading providers of integrated R&D support systems for the life sciences.

About Provantis™

Provantis™ is a modern, fully integrated software system for single users and global organizations engaged in preclinical evaluation studies. Orchestrating every facet of preclinical drug safety assessment, Provantis™ streamlines processes and workflows with straightforward, intuitive functionality for simple or complex studies within a GLP or non-GLP environment, on-site or over the Web.

About Instem®

Instem is a world-leading information solutions provider for the Life Sciences - accelerating drug and chemical development by increasing client productivity and enhancing the processes that lead to safer, more effective products. In addition to highly focused departmental and scientific solutions, Instem provides a range of Business Intelligence, Planning, Workflow Management, Document Management and Report Compilation applications.

To learn more about Instem solutions and its mission, please visit www.instem.com.

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