WILMINGTON,PPD has been awarded a $243 million contract for clinical research services related to AIDS by the federal government.
PPD (Nasdaq: PPDI) disclosed Monday that it had won the contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Division of AIDS (DAIDS).
Some $43 million of the contract will be for subcontractor costs, the Wilmington-based clinical research and pharmaceutical firm said.
PPD has worked on various federal AIDS programs since 1990.
“We are extremely pleased to have been chosen to support DAIDS in this important and challenging work,” said Fred Eshelman, PPD’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “A program of such magnitude provides a unique opportunity to assist DAIDS with its global agenda to transform the face of HIV through its international infrastructure, widespread physician training, clinical research and employment of disease prevention strategies.”
The contract calls for PPD to facilitate clinical research management efforts with emphasis on AIDS treatment in adults and youths as well as vaccine development and means to prevent transmission of AIDS, including mother-to-child.
Research efforts are truly international in scope, scheduled to take place in the US, Europe, South America, South Africa, Australia, China, Thailand and India.
PPD stock traded down 56 cents at $57.81 in early afternoon trading. Its stock jumped more than 20 percent last week after the company’s most recent earnings report beat Wall Street expectations and three analyst firms raised their ratings of the stock.
PPD: www.pddi.com
