PPD Inc. announced this week it has expanded its cGMP laboratory testing services into Wayne, Pa., to meet growing client demand for these services from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies located in the northeastern United States.

The 5,000-square-foot facility will provide small and large molecule testing for a full range of product development programs including vaccines and biologics. It strengthens PPD’s ability to become a single provider of laboratory services for companies working in vaccine or biologics development by delivering exceptional scientific expertise, more streamlined project management and easier logistics, according to a press release.

“Expanding our cGMP laboratory operations into Wayne puts us in close proximity to a large concentration of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies based in the Northeast,” said Magdalena Mejillano, vice president of cGMP lab services for PPD in the press release. “This expansion enhances our ability to serve clients in this region more effectively while delivering more flexible resources for onsite staffing programs at client sites.”

To support continued growth, the facility can be expanded to include an additional 10,000-square-feet of laboratory space. PPD has already transferred a lab manager and four analysts from its cGMP laboratory in Madison, Wis., to Wayne and plans to hire an additional 25 people for the laboratory by the end of the year.

In March, PPD launched the Vaccines & Biologics Center of Excellence, a first-in-kind comprehensive network of integrated world-class laboratory services focused solely on vaccine and biologic drug development. The center builds upon more than 20 years of global laboratory experience and allows clients to streamline and customize laboratory services for their biologics portfolios by integrating vaccine testing, bioanalytical, cGMP and global central lab capabilities, the release said.

Earlier this year, PPD opened an 18,000-square-foot analytical testing laboratory in Athlone, Ireland, expanding its capacity to meet growing client demand in Europe, Middle East and Africa.