US-based contract research organisation Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) has expanded its testing services for infectious diseases at two of its international central laboratory sites.
PPD has central labs in Belgium, China, Singapore and the United States. It has expanded its microbiology testing capabilities at the facilities in Singapore and Brussels, Belgium, offering additional microbiology, peripheral blood mononuclear-cell and molecular-pathology services.
Like its US central laboratory in Kentucky, PPD’s Brussels and Singapore facilities can now draw on a full range of microbiology testing services for bacteriology, mycology, parasitology and microbioterrorism pathogens, the company noted.
All three laboratories can conduct extensive virology testing, including real-time polymerase chain-reaction and viral-load tests, genotyping and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms analyses, PPD added.
These facilities also have the capability to culture, quantitate, identify and determine antibiotic susceptibility and resistance for aerobic and anaerobic organisms.
Leading category
Infectious diseases represent one of the leading therapeutic categories for clinical research and development, and PPD has conducted nearly 240 studies in this area over the past five years.
During that time, the company’s central laboratories have handled almost 50 infectious-disease studies involving some 25,000 screened patients.
“Adding these services to our Brussels and Singapore labs expands our ability to provide clients in Europe and Asia Pacific an important component of laboratory testing for infectious diseases,” commented Elena Logan, PPD’s senior vice president of central labs for PPD.
“PPD is unique in that we offer fully integrated clinical-trial management and central laboratory services, enabling us to provide increased efficiencies, greater study flexibility and added value to our clients,” Logan added.
