CINCINNATI, June 22 Kendle (Nasdaq: KNDL), a leading, global full-service clinical research organization, today announced the Company has opened its new operations center in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Knowledge Corridor. The new SEZ center represents an important and strategic investment for Kendle and demonstrates the Company's commitment to further invest in Asia/Pacific region to meet customer needs. The center opened Monday, June 21, following a dedication and lamp lighting ceremony presided over by Shri Jay Narayanbhai Vyas, Hon. Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat, and attended by biopharmaceutical customers and the local business community.
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"Growth in India is a key component of our strategy and will be very important to the future of Kendle" said Stephen Cutler, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our expanded presence in Asia, and in India in particular, creates efficiencies in the clinical development process for our customers worldwide and positions Kendle as a leading provider of high-quality, innovative and cost-effective clinical development services in this growing market."
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The SEZ operations center is a world-class center of excellence focusing on delivery of clinical data management, medical writing, pharmacovigilance/safety, biostatistics/programming and other knowledge processing-related services. These clinical support services are integrated under one roof, providing an efficient operations hub for Kendle in the region.
Kendle's SEZ operations center will initially employ approximately 50 professionals at the site. The unit is expected to scale up to approximately 300 associates in the near term, and is positioned to quickly expand further to meet customer demand. The unique geography of the unit, in close proximity to multiple universities as well as the city of Ahmedabad, provides a vast untapped talent pool ideal for building and expanding a high-tech workforce.
Kendle's expansion in the quickly maturing India market reflects the growing importance of the country to the global clinical research market. With a population of 1.2 billion, a growing and improving research infrastructure, an efficient and evolving regulatory setting, favorable intellectual property laws, a large pool of medical professionals and established research credentials, India is quickly becoming a world power in clinical research. Biopharmaceutical customers worldwide are increasingly demanding expanded service offerings in India to both control costs and meet commercialization goals.
Analysts at IMS health project a compounded annual growth rate of pharmaceutical sales in India of 12-14 percent for 2010 and 13-16 percent in the five years following. This trend is supported by a biotechnology market experiencing an estimated 30 percent annual growth, and the Indian CRO market, which is expected to see growth of 49 percent annually.
In addition to the new SEZ office, Kendle currently operates offices throughout the Asia/Pacific region in Ahmedabad and New Delhi, India; Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai, China; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand; Manila, Philippines; Singapore; and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.
About Kendle
Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq: KNDL) is a leading global clinical research organization providing the full range of early- to late-stage clinical development services for the world's biopharmaceutical industry. Our focus is on innovative solutions that reduce cycle times for our customers and accelerate the delivery of life-enhancing drugs to market for the benefit of patients worldwide. As one of the world's largest global providers of Phase I-IV services, we offer experience spanning more than 100 countries, along with industry-leading patient access and retention capabilities and broad therapeutic expertise, to meet our customers' clinical development challenges.
Additional information and investor kits are available upon request from Kendle, 441 Vine Street, Suite 500, Cincinnati, OH 45202 or from the Company's Web site at www.kendle.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and information contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Kendle intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. All such forward-looking statements, including the statements contained herein regarding anticipated trends from Kendle's opening of the Special Economic Zone Operations Center in Gandhinagar, India are based largely on management's expectations and are subject to and qualified by risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include those risks as detailed from time to time in Kendle's Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as periodic reports filed with the SEC. All information in this press release is current as of June 22, 2010. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.
The address for the new office is: Kendle Office No.102, Building - 1A, K. Raheja's Mindspace IT/ITES SEZ Koba - Village, Gandhinagar - 382 007 Gujarat - India
SOURCE Kendle International Inc.
