UCB and PAREXEL Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement

BOSTON, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PAREXEL International Corporation (NASDAQ: PRXL), a leading global biopharmaceutical services provider, today announced that it has been selected as one of two strategic partners by UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, to provide clinical development services worldwide. PAREXEL will work with UCB to drive innovation and accelerate development, as well as to increase productivity and cost effectiveness.

The agreement is effective for all of UCB's new clinical study programs on a global basis. Through the strategic partnership, UCB will receive the benefits of PAREXEL's proven clinical processes through all phases of development, which are supported by its market-leading eClinical technology platform. UCB will also leverage PAREXEL's consulting expertise in regulatory affairs and commercialization.

"Through the strategic partnership, PAREXEL will assist UCB to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness, and support increased opportunity for innovation, collaboration and the continuous improvement of quality and services -- helping us to deliver new medicines to patients worldwide," said Iris Loew-Friedrich, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of UCB. "PAREXEL will be instrumental in helping UCB expand our global drug development activities including in Asia."

"As a leader in the strategic partnership model, we look forward to providing UCB with best practices to bolster the success of their development efforts.  Leveraging our global resources and worldwide infrastructure, as well as the depth and breadth of our expertise, we look forward to working collaboratively with UCB to deliver customized, innovative solutions to achieve their goals," said Josef von Rickenbach, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PAREXEL International.

By partnering with PAREXEL, biopharmaceutical companies of all sizes, including mid-tier companies, can leverage the Company's global resources, quality standards, extensive therapeutic expertise and broad-based experience to create significant value, drive performance, and accomplish their development and commercialization goals.

PAREXEL provides a unique combination of regulatory and commercialization consulting, clinical development expertise, and integrated eClinical technologies from Perceptive Informatics to achieve results for ever more complex development programs. The Company leverages its established global footprint in 52 countries to provide the right experts in the right geographical locations for any aspect or phase of designing and executing clinical trials.

About UCB

UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With more than 8 500 people in about 40 countries, the company generated revenue of EUR 3.2 billion in 2010. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).

About PAREXEL International

PAREXEL International Corporation is a leading global bio/pharmaceutical services organization, providing a broad range of knowledge-based contract research, consulting, and medical communications services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Committed to providing solutions that expedite time-to-market and peak-market penetration, PAREXEL has developed significant expertise across the development and commercialization continuum, from drug development and regulatory consulting to clinical pharmacology, clinical trials management, medical education and reimbursement.  Perceptive Informatics, Inc., a subsidiary of PAREXEL, provides advanced technology solutions, including medical imaging, to facilitate the clinical development process.  Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, PAREXEL operates in 67 locations throughout 52 countries around the world, and has approximately 10,850 employees. For more information about PAREXEL International visit www.PAREXEL.com.

This release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding future results and events, including, without limitation, statements regarding expected financial results, future growth and customer demand.   For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements.  Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "appears," "estimates," "projects," "will," "would," "could," "should,"  "targets," and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements.  The forward-looking statements in this release involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  The Company's actual future results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this release.  Important factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, risks associated with: actual operating performance; actual expense savings and other operating improvements resulting from recent and anticipated restructurings, including the anticipated additional restructuring charges of approximately $4 million in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2012; the loss, modification, or delay of contracts which would, among other things, adversely impact the Company's recognition of revenue included in backlog; the Company's dependence on certain industries and clients; the Company's ability to win new business, manage growth and costs, and attract and retain employees; the Company's ability to complete additional acquisitions and to integrate newly acquired businesses or enter into new lines of business; the impact on the Company's business of government regulation of the drug,  medical device and biotechnology industry; consolidation within the pharmaceutical industry and competition within the biopharmaceutical services industry; the potential for significant liability to clients and third parties; the potential adverse impact of health care reform; and the effects of exchange rate fluctuations and other international economic, political, and other risks.   Such factors and others are discussed more fully in the section entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 as filed with the SEC on November 9, 2011, which "Risk Factors" discussion is incorporated by reference in this press release.  The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future.  These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

PAREXEL is a registered trademark of PAREXEL International Corporation, and Perceptive Informatics is a trademark of Perceptive Informatics, Inc. All other names or marks may be registered trademarks or trademarks of PAREXEL International Corporation, Perceptive Informatics, Inc. or their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.

SOURCE PAREXEL International Corporation