Novosibirsk office complements sites in Moscow, Smolensk, and St. Petersburg.

PPD opened an office in Novosibirsk, Russia, growing its Phase II–IV development services in Eastern Europe. The company believes Central and Eastern Europe are important, high-growth markets for clinical trials that offer efficient access to patients and a well-developed, centralized healthcare system.

“Establishing a presence in Novosibirsk allows us to serve clients more effectively and keep pace with clinical trial growth in this region,” says Roger Newbery, vp of clinical development for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “This expansion provides us the ability to reach more than five million people and grow our number of investigator sites to meet growing client demand.”

With offices already in Moscow, Smolensk, and St. Petersburg, PPD reported back in February 2009 that it planned on boosting staff and operations in Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine. The company had just picked up AbCRO, a contract research organization operating in Central and Eastern Europe. That takeover gave it entry into Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia.

PPD first obtained offices in Russia through its acquisition of InnoPharm in February 2008. The company was headquartered in Smolensk and had offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as Kiev, Ukraine.

“With more than 143 million people in Russia alone, Eastern Europe is a high-growth market for clinical trials and a region PPD has targeted for expansion,” Fred Eshelman, CEO commented at the time.

In June 2008, PPD further fortified its Eastern European presence by opening an office in Istanbul, Turkey. The firm has offices in 42 countries and more than 10,500 professionals worldwide. It has provided drug discovery, development, and lifecycle-management services for 25 years.

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