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Mountain View, California, July 16, 2003 - SurroMed, Inc. today announced it has
entered into a strategic collaboration with PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) that involves a
cash investment and a sale of assets, including a range of cancer biomarkers, by PPD
to SurroMed in return for a total of $24 million of a new series of SurroMed senior
preferred stock. In addition, PPD has agreed to purchase biomarker discovery services
from SurroMed over a four-year period and to act as SurroMed's non-exclusive representative
for sales of additional biomarker discovery services. In connection with the transaction,
SurroMed intends to relocate to PPD's facility in Menlo Park, California. The transactions
are expected to close in August 2003.
"This collaboration is a strong affirmation of the value of, and the need for,
improved biomarkers for the discovery and development of therapeutic and diagnostic
products," said Gordon Ringold, Ph.D., CEO and chairman of SurroMed. "We are delighted
to expand our existing relationship with PPD, a worldwide leader in drug development.
We believe that the collaboration with PPD will allow SurroMed to achieve positive cash
flow and sustainability and to expand our leadership position in the field of biomarker
discovery. We intend to use the cancer biomarkers we have acquired from PPD to begin a
focused effort in cancer diagnostics and will seek to partner related cancer therapeutic
opportunities."
About SurroMed, Inc. - The Biomarker Company
SurroMed is pioneering biomarker enabled drug discovery and development. The company
focuses on discovering and applying biomarkers to improve the drug discovery and
development process and enable the precise diagnosis and personalized treatment of
disease. SurroMed's research process yields biological markers and information that
enable accelerated, cost-efficient discovery and development of new therapeutic products,
as well as development of diagnostic tests for early disease detection, disease staging,
patient stratification, and guiding and monitoring therapy.
About PPD
As a leading global provider of discovery and development services and products for
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, PPD applies innovative technologies,
therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients maximize the return
on their R&D; investments. With proven early discovery through post-market resources,
the company also offers compound partnering opportunities. PPD has more than 5,500
professionals in 26 countries around the world. For more information on PPD, visit
the PPD Web site at http://www.ppdi.com.
Contacts:
SurroMed, Inc.
August J. Moretti
CFO and General Counsel
(650) 230-1564
email: [email protected]
Noonan/Russo Communications, Inc.
Ian McConnell, Ph.D
Senior Account Executive
(415) 677-4455 ext. 233
email: [email protected]
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