Pharmaron Forms Strategic Partnership with AstraZeneca to Accelerate Drug Discovery

<0> PharmaronKatherine Lee, +1 949-788-0586 </0>

Pharmaron, a premier R&D service provider for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, today announced a drug discovery partnership with AstraZeneca to support their global Innovative Medicines Units.

Under this multi-year agreement, Pharmaron will provide AstraZeneca with discovery services in the areas of chemistry, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), and efficacy screening. Pharmaron will conduct these services with a team consisting of several hundred scientists in dedicated, state-of-the-art research laboratories located in its newly opened drug discovery service center in Beijing. The co-location of screening andchemistryservices at a single partneris expected to help AstraZeneca scientists drive their drug discovery programs with greater efficiency. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Manos Perros, Head of Infection iMed and sponsor of the collaboration for AstraZeneca said, “We are pleased to enter this strategic partnership with Pharmaron which we believe will help us progress projects through our R&D pipeline more efficiently. Pharmaron scientists will be integrated into our project teams and play an important role in helping us fulfill our commitment to delivering meaningful medicines to patients worldwide.”

Dr. Boliang Lou, Pharmaron’s Chairman and CEO, said: “We are honored to be a strategic partner in the drug discovery area with AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical company. This partnership is an important milestone for Pharmaron as we are strengthening our capacity in the area of fully integrated services as a highly competitive and global player.”

Creating novel R&D models for pharmaceutical companies and CROs that nurture pharmaceutical innovation has been Pharmaron’s focal point for years, as pharmaceutical companies have been seeking integrated partnerships with the CRO industry to optimize their drug discovery and development pipelines. Pharmaron has thus built technology-based drug discovery service platforms with a focus on key therapeutic areas, as an integrated service partner to the pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information please visit: .

Pharmaron is a premier R&D service provider for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Founded in 2003, Pharmaron invests in its people and facilities enabling the Company to provide high quality R&D service across a number of disciplines, including chemistry, biology, DMPK, pharmacology, chemical development and safety assessment. Pharmaron is steadily growing to meet the needs of its partners.

With more than 2,000 employees and operations in China and the U.S., Pharmaron delivers superior scientific services while maintaining close communication with partners. The Company’s current clients include small and large pharmaceutical companies in North America, Europe and Japan.

Pharmaron's mission is to provide the highest quality of drug R&D services, helping the partners advance their projects in a timely and cost effective manner. More information is available at .