WILMINGTON, N.C., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPD, Inc. today announced that Fred Eshelman, chief executive officer, has adopted a prearranged stock trading plan to sell a portion of his PPD stock over time as part of his personal long-term strategy for asset diversification. The stock trading plan was adopted in accordance with guidelines specified under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and PPD’s policy regarding stock transactions by its insiders.
Under the plan, Dr. Eshelman may sell up to 1 million shares over a period of approximately six months, beginning in February 2007 and ending in July 2007. If Dr. Eshelman completes all the planned sales of shares under his Rule 10b5-1 plan, he would continue to be one of PPD’s largest shareholders and own approximately 8,350,600 shares or approximately 7.1 percent of PPD’s outstanding stock, based on the current number of outstanding shares. Dr. Eshelman’s shares of PPD stock include 33,334 shares of restricted stock vesting through 2008. He also holds vested and unvested stock options to purchase an additional 610,000 shares of PPD common stock.
“I continue to believe in the future of PPD,” Dr. Eshelman said. “These planned sales are simply a personal financial matter that will allow me to diversify a portion of my significant holdings in PPD.”
By using 10b5-1 trading plans, insiders can gradually diversify their investment portfolios, spread stock trades out over an extended period of time to reduce market impact and avoid concerns about potentially having material, non-public information when they sell their stock. Once established, the insider retains no discretion over purchases and sales under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. The prearranged trades may then be executed through a broker at later dates without regard to any subsequent material non-public information that the insider may receive.
Any transactions under Dr. Eshelman’s plan will be subject to Rule 144 volume limitations and will be disclosed publicly through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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 27 countries and more than 9,100 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 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 actual results to differ materially include the following: reliance on key personnel, including Dr. Eshelman; continued success in sales growth; loss of large contracts; increased cancellation rates; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries and academic and government-sponsored research sectors; risks associated with and dependence on collaborative relationships; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; competition within the outsourcing industry; risks associated with the development and commercialization of drugs, including obtaining regulatory approvals; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments; 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.
Contacts: Linda Baddour +910 772 6999 linda.baddour@wilm.ppdi.com Steve Smith +910 772 7585 stephen.smith@wilm.ppdi.com
PPD, Inc.
CONTACT: Linda Baddour, +1-910-772-6999, or linda.baddour@wilm.ppdi.com,or Steve Smith, +1-910-772-7585, or stephen.smith@wilm.ppdi.com, both ofPPD, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ppdi.com//
