PPD, Inc. Recognized For Clinical Research Excellence

WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD) today announced that company clinical research associates (CRAs) earned recognition for excellence at the annual PharmaTimes Clinical Researcher of the Year – The Americas competition.

“This recognition demonstrates the exceptional caliber of the CRAs and clinical trial managers whom PPD deploys on each and every client study”

“This recognition demonstrates the exceptional caliber of the CRAs and clinical trial managers whom PPD deploys on each and every client study,” said Donna Hellsten, PPD vice president of clinical development for North America. “Their expertise, dedication and commitment to excellence are qualities that PPD clients expect. Our employees are determined to ensure that PPD delivers performance, quality and value to clients and study sites around the world.”

A five-person PPD team earned the PharmaTimes Company Team of the Year silver award: Valarie McGee, senior clinical manager and CRA; Sheri Mason, clinical trial manager; Richard Dause, clinical manager and CRA; Mary Wagner, senior CRA; and Andy Knowlton, senior clinical manager and CRA.

Pamela Grillini, senior clinical trial manager, earned the bronze award in the project manager category. This award recognizes project managers who are responsible for trials, based on project deliverables.

PPD study teams leverage Preclarus^TM, PPD’s solution for delivering real-time data and dynamic analytics to enable effective decision-making in clinical research. The remarkable sophistication of research intelligence made possible by Preclarus is transforming the conduct of clinical trials, and Preclarus’ real-time capabilities and dynamic analytics underpin PPD’s adaptive and intelligent approach to risk-based monitoring. This approach has changed the way clinical teams do their jobs, as CRAs no longer spend their time on-site pursuing and fixing a list of problems, but are now able to use their time to work with study sites to assess processes and enact improvements.

The award winners were among more than 40 finalists to face a series of competency-based challenges over the course of a year. A panel of biopharmaceutical industry judges rewarded the PPD team and Grillini for their knowledge, skills and expertise.

The PharmaTimes competition offers clinical researchers the opportunity to benchmark their skills against industry peers. The challenge has three phases, including a preliminary multiple-choice exam followed by essay questions for those advancing to the second round. For the finals, CRAs are presented a real-world scenario and given one hour to prepare a response for a panel of judges. Winners are determined by their answers to follow-up questions that assess their knowledge, innovation, creativity and ability to collaborate.

“The PharmaTimes Clinical Researcher of the Year competition has been inspiring and exciting to prepare for with the PPD team, and we have loved the opportunity to test our skills in a wider forum,” McGee said. “This competition is a great way to see how individuals within the industry work together and approach challenges differently.”

PharmaTimes established the Clinical Researcher of the Year competition, with events held in the United States and London each year, to recognize and encourage outstanding clinical research professionals.

About PPD

PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 46 countries and more than 14,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their R&D investments. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com.

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions, including statements, expectations and assumptions about PPD’s employees and services 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 and could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other important factors that could cause future results to differ materially include the following: the ability to attract, integrate, retain and train key personnel; risks associated with and dependence on strategic relationships; risks associated with acquisitions and investments; competition in the outsourcing industry; PPD’s ability to win new business; overall global economic conditions; economic conditions, research and development spending, and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and government-sponsored research sectors; loss, delay or modification of large contracts; higher-than-expected cancellation rates; the rate of conversion of backlog into revenue; consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; rapid technological advances that make our services or capabilities less competitive; the ability to control SG&A spending; compliance with drug development regulations; changes in the regulation of the drug development process; and actual operating performance. PPD assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update these forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing PPD’s estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.