Covance Increases Early Clinical Footprint in Europe with Acquisition of Swiss-Based Early Clinical Development Site
13 March 2009 - 11:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
PRINCETON, N.J., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Covance Inc.
(NYSE: CVD) announced today that it is expanding its clinical
pharmacology footprint in Europe with the acquisition of Swiss
Pharma Contract, a 50-bed clinical research company based in Basel,
Switzerland. "Our clients' need for complex, high-science clinical
pharmacology studies that can help them make decisions faster is
growing," said Joe Herring, Covance chief executive officer. "This
acquisition significantly increases Covance's early clinical
development footprint in Europe and gives our clients access to
special patient populations for Phase I/IIa clinical studies.
Covance's early clinical development offerings are well-positioned
to provide our clients with the knowledge critical to enhancing
downstream success rates." Swiss Pharma Contract is an experienced,
high-quality provider of clinical research services to the
pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device industries,
working with 10 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Swiss
Pharma Contract has conducted more than 200 complex clinical trials
since 2002, with roughly a third of them being first-in-human
studies. The Basel site also has substantial expertise in
radiolabeled and proof-of-concept studies, a wealth of experience
in specialty therapeutic areas, and access to a large and active
volunteer database. The business includes a modern, well-equipped
clinical pharmacology facility that will increase Covance's global
capacity to approximately 550 beds in the United States and Europe.
The company's talented staff includes nine physicians as well as
other medical staff experienced in complex clinical trials. All
Swiss Pharma Contract employees will be offered employment at
Covance. Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is
one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development
services companies with annual revenues greater than $1.7 billion,
global operations in more than 25 countries, and more than 9,600
employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and
services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained
through its website at http://www.covance.com/. Statements
contained in this press release, which are not historical facts,
such as statements about prospective earnings, savings, revenue,
operations, revenue and earnings growth and other financial results
are forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All such forward-looking statements including the statements
contained herein regarding anticipated trends in the Company's
business are based largely on management's expectations and are
subject to and qualified by risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
without limitation, competitive factors, outsourcing trends in the
pharmaceutical industry, levels of industry research and
development spending, the Company's ability to continue to attract
and retain qualified personnel, the fixed price nature of contracts
or the loss of large contracts, risks associated with acquisitions
and investments, and other factors described in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its
Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The
Company undertakes no duty to update any forward looking statement
to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the
Company's expectations. DATASOURCE: Covance Inc. CONTACT: Media:
+1-609-419-2060; or Investors: +1-609-452-4807 Web Site:
http://www.covance.com/
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