SADDLE RIVER, N.J., July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PDI, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDII), a leading provider of sales and marketing support to U.S. pharmaceutical companies, announced today that current PDI director Gerald P. Belle has been appointed to the newly-established position of lead independent director. Mr. Belle has been a director of the Company since April 2008. He is also a member of the Audit Committee. "Jerry has served as an invaluable board member during his tenure with PDI," stated John P. Dugan, Chairman of the Board of PDI, Inc. "In his expanded role, we believe Jerry's experience, knowledge and leadership skills will further enhance the Company's corporate governance structure. We look forward to his continuing contributions." "I am delighted to accept this new appointment as lead director of PDI, especially as the Company continues to expand its strong presence in the industry and the value proposition it brings to its customers in an ever-changing environment. As such, I look forward to working with PDI management and my fellow board members who remain committed to helping achieve the Company's growth goals while maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance," stated Mr. Belle. From 2004 until his retirement in November 2007, Mr. Belle served as Executive Chairman of Merial Ltd., a global animal health company that is a joint venture between Sanofi-aventis and Merck & Co. Prior to that, Mr. Belle served as President and Chief Executive Officer, North America Pharmaceuticals for Aventis, Inc. He retired after 35 years of service at Aventis and its predecessor companies. Mr. Belle is Chairman of the Board of Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company and also a member of the board of directors of Myriad Genetics, Inc., a publicly held genetics diagnostic company. Mr. Belle earned a B.S.B.A. in Marketing from Xavier University in 1968 and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University in 1969. About PDI, Inc. PDI provides commercialization services for established and emerging biopharmaceutical companies. The Company is dedicated to maximizing the return on investment for its clients by providing strategic flexibility, sales, marketing and commercialization expertise. For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.pdi-inc.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and financial performance. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions involving judgments about, among other things, future economic, competitive and market conditions and future business decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond PDI's control. These statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause PDI's actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not limited to: effects of the current worldwide economic and financial crisis; changes in outsourcing trends or a reduction in promotional, marketing and sales expenditures in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries; early termination of a significant services contract or the loss of one or more significant clients or a material reduction in service revenues from such clients; the ability to obtain additional funds in order to implement PDI's business model; the ability to successfully develop and generate sufficient revenue from any product commercialization opportunities; the ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate any future acquisitions and the effects of any such acquisitions on PDI's ongoing business; the ability to meet performance goals in incentive-based and revenue sharing arrangements with clients; competition in PDI's industry; the ability to attract and retain qualified sales representatives and other key employees and management personnel; product liability claims against PDI; changes in laws and healthcare regulations applicable to PDI's industry or PDI's, or its clients', failure to comply with such laws and regulations; the ability to increase revenues and successfully manage the size of PDI's operations; volatility of PDI's stock price and fluctuations in its quarterly revenues and earnings; potential liabilities associated with insurance claims; failure of, or significant interruption to, the operation of its information technology and communications systems; the results of any future impairment testing for goodwill and other intangible assets; and the risk factors detailed from time to time in PDI's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, PDI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, and PDI's subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Because of these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. In addition, these statements speak only as of the date of this press release and, except as may be required by law, PDI undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. DATASOURCE: PDI, Inc. CONTACT: Media: Amy Lombardi of PDI, Inc., +1-201-574-8663, ; or Investor: Melody A. Carey of Rx Communications Group, LLC, +1-917-322-2571, Web Site: http://www.pdi-inc.com/

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