WILMINGTON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced Mark Esser, Ph.D., associate director of immunology, and Lisa Kierstead, Ph.D., associate director, labs, will present at the 10th annual World Vaccine Congress 2010 Conference in Chantilly, Va., on April 19-22.
Dr. Esser will discuss the role of vaccine biomarkers in accelerating clinical trials. He will highlight how antibody and functional biomarker assays can be implemented to accelerate Phase I, dose ranging, concomitant and Phase IV marketing vaccine studies and the use of biomarkers in licensing and post-licensing marketing studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. His presentation is Wednesday, April 21, at 3:15 p.m. ET.
Dr. Esser has extensive experience in developing and validating biomarker assays to support clinical development programs for vaccines and therapeutic proteins against infectious diseases and cancer. At Merck & Co., he was a member of the team that successfully achieved licensure of GARDASIL® for the prevention of HPV infection. In February 2010, R&D Directions named Dr. Esser one of its 10 most notable scientists in research and development for his significant contributions in vaccine development.
Dr. Kierstead will speak on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and their impact on clinical trials. She will highlight the parameters affecting PBMS integrity and critical factors to ensure the quality of PBMCs. Her presentation is Thursday, April 22, at 10:15 p.m. ET.
Dr. Kierstead joined PPD through its acquisition of the Merck vaccine testing laboratory in Wayne, Pa. She is expanding PPD’s well-established PBMC services and oversees assay development to support detection of humoral and cellular immunogenicity to vaccines. Dr. Kierstead spent eight years at Merck in clinical assay development for T-cell immunity and cell-based assays.
Last month, PPD announced the launch of its Vaccines & Biologics Center of Excellence, a first-in-kind comprehensive network of integrated, world-class laboratory services focused specifically on vaccine and biologic drug development.
The World Vaccine Congress conference is the largest vaccine industry event in North America, providing a forum to explore an area expected to double in revenue by 2013. PPD is a platinum sponsor of this year’s event.
PPD is a leading global contract research organization, celebrating 25 years of providing drug discovery, development and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 41 countries and more than 10,500 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 contained in this news release, including expectations and assumptions about the information presented during these presentations 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 results to differ materially include the following: the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated with and dependence on collaborative relationships; competition within the outsourcing industry; success in sales growth; loss of large contracts; increased cancellation rates; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government industry segments; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; 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.
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