Global contract research organization
Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) is a global contract research organization (CRO) providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services. In December 2021, PPD became a wholly owned subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
History
PPD was founded by Fred Eshelman, Pharm.D., as a one-person consulting firm in 1985. The following year, he expanded the company's scope to include development services and relocated operations from Maryland to North Carolina.
- July 1985: Fred Eshelman, Pharm.D., founds PPD as a one-person consulting firm based in his home in Maryland.
- 1986: Eshelman expands the company and relocates operations to Wilmington, North Carolina.
- January 1989: The company incorporates in North Carolina.
- January 1996: PPD issues its initial public stock offering and begins trading on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol PPDI.
- October 2005: PPD's board of directors adopts an annual cash dividend policy.
- July 2009: The company promotes Eshelman to executive chairman and names David Grange chief executive officer.[3]
- January 2010: The company commemorates the 25th anniversary of its founding.
- June 2010: PPD spins off its compound partnering division as a new and independent publicly traded company, Furiex Pharmaceuticals.[4]
- May 2011: David Grange retires as chief executive officer of PPD.[5]
- September 2011: PPD's board of directors names Raymond Hill as PPD's new chief executive officer.[6]
- December 2011: The company is acquired by affiliates of The Carlyle Group and affiliates of Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $3.9 billion.[7]
- May 2012: PPD's board of directors names David Simmons as chairman and CEO.[8]
- August 2013: PPD acquires Acurian.[9]
- December 2014: PPD announces an agreement with SNBL to form a joint venture to provide full range of clinical development services in Japan.[10]
- May 2015: PPD expands network of U.S.-based research sites via strategic relationship with Radiant.
- June 2016: PPD expands network of global research sites via strategic relationship with Synexus.
- September 2016: PPD acquires Evidera.[11]
- April 2017: Hellman & Friedman and affiliates of The Carlyle Group enter into definitive agreements to recapitalize PPD and expand the company's ownership to include two new investors, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and an affiliate of GIC Private Limited, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund.[12]
- July 2018: PPD launches new site solution.[13]
- July 2018: Synexus announces U.S.-based registry to power major longitudinal study on brain aging.[14]
- February 2019: PPD inks deal with China's HLT to create data science-driven research solutions.[15]
- May 2019: PPD's Evidera acquires RWE provider Medimix.[16]
- September 2019: PPD's Accelerated Enrollment Solutions acquires global site business from Bioclinica.[17]
- February 2020: PPD issues its initial public stock offering and begins trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol PPD.[18]
- April 2021: Thermo Fisher Scientific announces plans to acquire PPD.[19]
- December 2021: Thermo Fisher Scientific completes the acquisition of PPD.[20]
Location
PPD has its headquarters in Wilmington, North Carolina. The company has more than 27,000 employees. As of December 2021, PPD became a wholly owned subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific, based in Waltham, Massachusetts.
$4.7 Billion (2020)[2]