PPD To Expand Central Lab into Singapore

PPD, Inc. plans to expand its global central lab services into Singapore in response to growing demand in Southeast Asia. The lab is expected to begin operations in mid-2009 and will provide biopharmaceutical clients with a “comprehensive range of highly customized lab services,” according to a PPD statement.

“Southeast Asia is an attractive region for conducting clinical trials, and Singapore is an important biopharmaceutical hub,” said Agostino L. Fede, Ph.D., senior vice president of PPD and head of PPD’s global central labs. “Establishing a direct lab presence in Singapore will enhance our abilities to reduce turnaround time and deliver high quality specimens and laboratory results at better logistics costs for our clients.”

PPD has provided a range of clinical development services in Singapore for several years, including clinical trial management and monitoring, patient recruitment, site identification and regulatory affairs. The equipment in Singapore is identical to platforms located at PPD’s global central labs in Brussels, Belgium;, Highland Heights, KY, and Beijing, China. Assays will be extensively cross validated among PPD’s locations to produce combinable data, according to the company.

PPD’s Singapore lab will interface directly with ConneXion, the company’s proprietary global computer system, to ensure consistent management and real-time reporting.