BOSTON, May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PAREXEL
International (NASDAQ: PRXL), a leading global biopharmaceutical
services organization, today named Dr. Sy Pretorius its Chief
Scientific Officer. Dr. Pretorius currently serves as the
Company's Corporate Vice President and Worldwide Head of Early
Phase, and will continue in that capacity in addition to assuming
his expanded responsibilities.
As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Pretorius will enhance and lead
innovation of clinical research methodologies, and help PAREXEL
further integrate its offerings to meet growing industry demand for
end-to-end drug development services. He will focus on a
variety of important capabilities, including clinical trial
modeling and simulations, as well as adaptive trial designs.
Dr. Pretorius will also lead the Company's study optimization
services by aligning its considerable scientific and therapeutic
expertise to provide valuable guidance to customers in clinical
study design, with a goal of increasing study predictability while
reducing costs and time to market.
"Customers are increasingly seeking a full spectrum of
integrated clinical research services from a single provider to
make drug development more efficient," said Mark A. Goldberg, M.D., President and Chief
Operating Officer, PAREXEL. "To help us meet these requirements, we
have not only recently added new senior leadership to our ranks,
but we have expanded the role of one of our current
executives. Sy Pretorius has enjoyed a long and distinguished
career at the Company, and applying his expertise more broadly will
benefit customers and PAREXEL alike."
Thomas Senderovitz, M.D., Senior
Vice President of Clinical Research Services at PAREXEL, added, "A
unified approach to clinical drug development is central to our
commitment to delivering integrated clinical services. By
aligning our international expertise under Dr. Pretorius'
leadership, we can provide these services in a more effective,
cross-functional manner."
Dr. Pretorius is a board-certified medical doctor with master's
degrees in Clinical Pharmacology and Business Administration. In
nearly 18 years at PAREXEL, he has held positions of increasing
responsibility, most recently as head of Early Phase services.
He will continue to lead PAREXEL's global Phase I and IIa
services. These services are provided via the Company's
hospital-based clinical network, which spans three continents, as
well as its global Proof of Concept division.
"PAREXEL supports over 1,700 clinical projects in 20 therapeutic
areas, and conducts trials in more than 100 countries," said Dr.
Pretorius. "I look forward to applying our scientific capabilities
to meet the increasingly global and complex needs of our
customers."
About PAREXEL International
PAREXEL International
Corporation is a leading global biopharmaceutical services
organization, providing a broad range of knowledge-based contract
research, consulting, medical communications, and technology
solutions and 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 75
locations in 50 countries around the world, and has approximately
15,335 employees. For more information about PAREXEL
International visit www.PAREXEL.com.
PAREXEL, PAREXEL Informatics, Perceptive, Perceptive MyTrials,
and "Your Journey. Our Mission." are trademarks or registered
trademarks of PAREXEL International Corporation or its
affiliates.
This release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding
future results and events. 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;
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 including the recent acquisitions of LIQUENT,
Inc. and HERON Group Ltd., Inc., 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 March 31, 2014 as filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 2,
2014, 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.
Contacts:
Diana Martin,
Vice President, Corporate Communications
PAREXEL International
Tel: +1 781-434-5516
Email: Diana.Martin@PAREXEL.com
Matthew Briggs
PAN Communications
Tel: +1 617-502-4300
Email: PAREXEL@pancomm.com
SOURCE PAREXEL International Corporation