WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced the opening of offices in Manila, Philippines, and Bangalore, India, expanding its Phase II-IV clinical development services in response to growing client demand in Asia Pacific. PPD will provide clinical management services in key therapeutic areas from both locations.

The offices strengthen PPD’s full range of drug discovery and development services and continue to position the company to capitalize on the tremendous growth of the outsourcing market in Asia Pacific. PPD recently expanded in this region through its acquisitions of Excel, the market leader and one of the largest contract research organizations in China, and BioDuro, a drug discovery outsourcing company.

“With 90 million people living in the Philippines and more than 20 million in Manila, there is enthusiasm for local expansion and involvement in clinical trials,” said Lesley Gerrard, director of clinical management in PPD’s Melbourne, Australia, office. “The recent opening of the Manila office demonstrates PPD’s commitment to the growth and development of emerging markets in Southeast Asia and to further exploration of the opportunities that exist within this region.”

Denzel Benjamin, director of clinical management in PPD’s Bangalore office, added, “India is expected to conduct nearly five percent of global trials by 2010, and the opening of our Bangalore office advances our plans for expansion in India. This office provides us easy access to all of our sites across south India, which means cost savings for our clients and greater efficiencies for PPD.”

The Manila office is located at Units 8 and 9, Alpha Building, UP-AyalaLand TechnoHub, Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City, Philippines 1121. The Bangalore office is at Pine Valley, Stylus Office, Embassy Golf-Links Business Park, Bangalore, India, 560071. For more information about PPD services provided from Manila, call +632 332 9818 and from Bangalore, call +91 80 4176 4567.

PPD is a leading global contract research organization, celebrating 25 years of advancing drug development. We provide discovery, development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 40 countries and more than 10,500 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help its clients and partners maximize returns on their R&D investments and accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics to patients. For more information, visit our Web site at http://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 opening of our new offices and globalization strategy, 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 geographic expansion; success in sales growth; loss of large contracts; increased cancellation rates; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government industry segments; competition within the outsourcing industry; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with and dependence on collaborative relationships; risks associated with the development and commercialization of drugs, including earnings dilution and obtaining regulatory approval; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as integration and impairments; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; risks that we may not continue our dividend policy; 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.