Company History
Fred Eshelman, Pharm.D., founded PPD as a one-person consulting firm based in Maryland in 1985. The following year he expanded the company's scope to include development services and relocated operations to Wilmington, N.C.
After growing sizably in its early years, PPD issued an initial public stock offering in early 1996, and its common stock began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol PPDI. Later that year PPD acquired Applied Bioscience International, Inc., which included Pharmaco as well as several European regional drug development companies, giving PPD the global mass to be considered among the leaders of the clinical outsourcing industry.
A series of acquisitions in the late 1990s broadened PPD's portfolio of services and infrastructure, particularly in the areas of drug discovery, clinical information software and products, medical information and post-approval services.
In 1998, PPD acquired a license from Eli Lilly and Company to develop and commercialize dapoxetine for genitourinary indications. The alliance was the catalyst for the launch of PPD's compound partnering program, an innovative risk-sharing business strategy featuring a seamless connection between the company's core development resources and the discovery efforts of its partners.
The Wall Street Journal helped validate the company's unique business model in 2000 by ranking PPD 11th best in stock performance, while Forbes named PPD to its 2001 list of the 200 Best Small Companies in America.
PPD continued to grow organically and by acquisition in the current decade to offer a full spectrum of services from discovery through post-approval. The company added biomarker discovery sciences, global central labs, consulting services and proprietary e-technologies for clinical and safety data management; and medical device development.
Further expanding its geographic reach, PPD acquired an Asian-based contract research organization (CRO) with extensive experience in managing pan-Asian clinical trials. Most recently, PPD acquired two independent CROs that strengthened its ability to provide clinical development services in Central and Eastern Europe. The company also announced plans to open a global central laboratory in Singapore and a cGMP analytical testing laboratory in Athlone, Ireland, in the second half of 2009.
Key to PPD's continued success is its ability to forge innovative alliances and strategic outsourcing partnerships that capture cost-efficiences and speed drug development, as it did with Merck & Co., Inc., in 2008. In this strategic collaboration, PPD acquired Merck's vaccines and biologics infrastructure, broadened its therapeutics expertise and significantly expanded its existing relationship with the pharmaceutical company.
With operations spanning six continents to meet the regional and multinational needs of clients, PPD continues to earn recognition as a leader in the industry. PPD was honored when Forbes in 2008 again selected PPD for its Platinum 400 list of the best big companies in America and as the best-managed company in the health care equipment and services category.
Learn more about PPD's global presence and experience.
