PPD Names VPs, Expands Global Senior Leadership Team; Restructures Business Units Geographically
WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct. 10Â -- PPD, Inc. today announced the appointments of Paul D. Colvin as senior vice president of clinical operations for North America and Simon J. Britton as vice president of clinical operations for Asia.
Mr. Colvin joins PPD from Eli Lilly and Company where he most recently directed clinical operations and global patient enrollment optimization. During his 14-year career at Lilly, he held a series of leadership positions including chief operations officer for the global cardiovascular brand team; European clinical operations senior manager for the oncology, critical care, primary care and neuroscience business units; global clinical operations manager for oncology project teams; and clinical project management leader for the oncology project team.
"Paul Colvin brings extensive global development experience across a wide range of therapeutic areas garnered during an impressive tenure with Lilly," said William Sharbaugh, chief operating officer of PPD. "His experience as a leader in the trenches of clinical drug development will serve him well in overseeing our North American Phase II-IV operational unit."
The position assumed by Mr. Britton is a new senior management role created specifically for the company's business on that continent.
"With Asia's escalating importance to global drug development, additional leadership will enable us to drive PPD's continued growth in the region," Mr. Sharbaugh said. "We are pleased to gain Simon Britton as a member of our team with his comprehensive international experience and proven ability to expand business scope and deliver quality results."
Mr. Britton spent the last seven years at GlaxoSmithKline where he most recently served as head of international clinical operations, managing the company's global clinical operations group across 25 countries. He brings more than 16 years' experience in leadership roles in the biopharmaceutical industry.
With Mr. Britton's appointment, PPD has divided its Phase II-IV operational units into four distinct territories: North America; Latin America; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia.
"This strategic restructuring of our business units geographically will enhance our ability to leverage PPD talent globally, strengthen internal standardization of our processes and further our ability to manage complex multinational trials efficiently," Mr. Sharbaugh added.
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing discovery, development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 29 countries and more than 10,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help its clients and partners maximize returns on their R&D investments and accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics to patients. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.ppdi.com.
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions, including expectations and assumptions about the above-named employees' performance and value to PPD as well as the geographic restructuring, 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 those 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; competition within the outsourcing industry; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries and government-sponsored research sector; success in sales growth; loss of or delay in large contracts; dependence on collaborative relationships; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments; 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.