PPD Appoints Experienced Industry Leader To Guide PPD Laboratories

WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD) today announced it has appointed Christopher C. Fikry, M.D., as executive vice president of PPD^® Laboratories.

PPD Laboratories offers the most comprehensive set of laboratory services in the industry, spanning bioanalytical, biomarkers, central lab, GMP and vaccine sciences. From preclinical studies through late stage research, PPD Laboratories’ services are designed to accelerate development for small molecules, biologics and vaccines.

“Chris will apply his extensive industry experience and leadership skills to guide the continued growth of our laboratory business by ensuring exceptional quality and service for our clients,” said William Sharbaugh, chief operating officer for PPD. “With pharmaceutical and biotech companies’ needs in clear focus, Chris and our talented lab teams will continue to bring our clients world-class scientific expertise, state-of-the-art technology and a commitment to innovation in helping develop new life-changing therapies.”

Fikry joins PPD from Quest Diagnostics, where he served most recently as vice president and general manager for oncology and companion diagnostics. He took on this role after having served as vice president of clinical trials, a role in which he led the company’s central laboratory, biomarker and companion diagnostic services.

Previously, Fikry was with Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc., where he developed a track record of success in a variety of roles, including director of strategic planning, head of U.S. influenza, travel vaccine and meningococcal vaccine franchises and commercial leadership roles, including vice president of U.S. marketing. He began his career as a project leader with The Boston Consulting Group.

Fikry earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from New York University and a medical degree and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.

About PPD

PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 47 countries and more than 19,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a firm commitment to quality to help clients and partners bend the cost and time curve of drug development to deliver life-changing therapies that improve health. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com.

Forward-looking Statement

Any statements made in this news release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about PPD’s new leader of PPD^® Laboratories, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements often include words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggests,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projects,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “forecast” and other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are subject to and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. Although PPD believes these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, many factors are beyond PPD’s ability to control or predict and could affect the outcome of the subject matter of this news release and our actual financial results, and therefore the outcome and results might differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

Additional factors that might materially affect the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: our ability to recruit, retain and motivate key personnel; the competitive nature of the drug development services industry; changes in trends in the biopharmaceutical industry; rapid technological changes that make our services less competitive or obsolete; the impacts of political, economic and/or regulatory changes on the health care industry; the fact that our backlog may not accurately predict or convert into service revenue; the termination, delay or change in scope of our contracts; industry, customer or therapeutic concentration; the pricing of and cost management of customer contracts; information and communication systems failures; contractual failures; regulatory and ethical standards failures; our ability to attract investigators and enroll patients in clinical trials; violations of laws governing privacy, conduct of clinical trials and/or other pharmaceutical research; competition between existing and potential customers; management of business restructurings and acquisitions; risk relating to the performance of drug development services and our insurance coverages, if any, for such risks; U.S. or international economic, currency, political and other risks; changes in existing or interpretations of tax laws; factors impacting the value of our goodwill and intangible assets; and other factors.

PPD assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or make any new forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. PPD is not responsible for updating the information contained in this news release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this news release by wire services or internet service providers or any other party.