WILMINGTON, N.C., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPD, Inc. today announced the appointment of Jose Luis Viramontes, M.D., as associate director of clinical operations, to lead the company's delivery of drug development services in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Based in Mexico City, Dr. Viramontes will provide overall management of PPD clinical services in the region.
"Dr. Viramontes brings a solid understanding of the pharmaceutical industry in Mexico, extensive clinical research experience and strong leadership skills," said Wendy Buckland, senior executive director of clinical operations for Latin America. "He will play a lead role in expanding our global presence in Latin America, and we are pleased to welcome him to PPD."
A physician, Dr. Viramontes joins PPD from Merck Sharp & Dohme Mexico where he spent 14 years in roles with increasing responsibilities. Most recently, he served as clinical research associate director. In this role, he oversaw clinical trials, including site validation and selection; identified and developed clinical research preferred partners; ensured consistency of process and protocol implementation; and coordinated clinical research training. His earlier roles with Merck included market expansion manager, medical director, product manager and cardiovascular medical manager.
Dr. Viramontes earned a medical degree from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and completed a specialty in respiratory medicine at the General Hospital of Mexico. He also holds a master in sciences certificate in medical sciences and clinical research. He earned a certificate in clinical epidemiology and health economics from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. In addition, Dr. Viramontes has a post-graduate certificate in marketing and is knowledgeable of Six Sigma methodology.
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing 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 30 countries and more than 10,000 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, including expectations and assumptions about the above-named employee's performance and value to PPD contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD attempts to be accurate in making those 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: the ability to attract and retain key personnel; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries and government-sponsored research sector; loss of or delay in large contracts; dependence on collaborative relationships; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments; competition within the outsourcing industry; continued success in sales growth; 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.
sueann.pentecost@rtp.ppdi.comstephen.smith@wilm.ppdi.com
CONTACT: Media, Sue Ann Pentecost, +1-919-456-5890,
sueann.pentecost@rtp.ppdi.com, or Analysts and Investors, Steve Smith,
+1-910-558-7585, stephen.smith@wilm.ppdi.com, both of PPD, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ppdi.com/
