PPD has opened a new central lab facility in Shanghai, expanding its testing services into China as it stretches out around the globe.
The new facility offers a wide range of tests, including safety screens, biomarker services and assay development. Established alongside the Shanghai Clinical Research Center, PPD's fourth central lab has the same capabilities as its existing operations in Kentucky, Belgium and Singapore, the company said.
Each site uses the same technologies and standards, allowing PPD's global clients to get the same results no matter where they run tests, Vice President Andrew Cunningham said.
"Our global network of central labs is committed to bringing value across the product development continuum," Cunningham said in a statement. "The standardized, global platforms and web-based database of our central labs ensure superior service, quality data, and exceptional speed and flexibility for our clients."
The Shanghai lab adds to PPD's 20 clinical development facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific region, an area of increased focus for the global CRO. Earlier this month, PPD kicked off a joint venture with Japan's Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories under which the two will collaborate on clinical trials in the country.
The effort is the latest in a string of moves through which PPD is working to expand its presence in the market. Late last year, the CRO partnered with the data collection experts at ERT, and, in September, PPD bought out the discovery-focused outfit X-Chem in an acquisition designed to bolster its early-stage capacity. In 2013, the CRO acquired technology provider Acurian to better focus on clinical trial enrollment and retention services.
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