| COVANCE ENHANCES
CENTRAL LABORATORY SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA |
|
Princeton, New Jersey, August 8, 2001 — Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) today announced it would upgrade its central laboratory capabilities in South Africa and enhance its service offerings in the region. Covance and Dietrich, Street & Partners Global Clinical Trials (DSP), one of the leading pathology groups in South Africa, is renovating existing space and adding some new capacity to accommodate a state-of-the art microbiology laboratory, sample storage, and kit production areas. This will enable Covance to provide higher quality data and service standards for its pharmaceutical customers developing drugs in this region.
Covance and DSP joined forces in 1995 to meet clients' growing need for global clinical trial services. Through this arrangement, Covance contracts with DSP for personnel and administrative support, as well as laboratory space and equipment. In recent years, Covance has made additional enhancements to its South Africa capabilities by introducing advanced techniques such as flow cytometry, which can help increase the accuracy of lab results and PCR testing, to meet the high demand for rapid results for HIV studies.
South Africa is a growing market for drug development services, particularly in the area of infectious diseases, which is one of the leading areas of pharmaceutical company investment. The region offers major pharmaceutical companies access to a large patient population in need of medical treatment and trained clinical investigators. Currently about 10% of all Phase III trials include sites in South Africa.
Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with 2000 pro forma revenues of $737 million, operations currently in 17 countries, and approximately 7,000 employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through the website in the About Covance area.
Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, such as statements about prospective earnings, savings, revenue, earnings growth and other financial results are forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward-looking statements including the statements contained herein regarding anticipated trends in the Company's business 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, without limitation, competitive factors, outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical industry, the Company's ability to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel, the fixed price nature of contracts or the loss of large contracts and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
|
|
