Wilmington-based Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) recently announced its collaboration with a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company to develop oncology and immunology therapeutics.

Harbour BioMed (HBM) has selected PPD as its preferred global contract research partner to conduct clinical studies on its internal research pipelines, according to a news release.

The company is using PPD Biotech services, which, according to its website, finds phase I through IV clinical development solutions for biotech and small to midsize pharmaceutical companies.

The two companies recently completed an Australian ethics committee submission for HBM’s anti-cancer immunotherapy to target solid tumors, stated the release. They reached a milestone ahead of schedule, “on the path to Phase I trials in Australia and the United States,” according to the release.

“Our enthusiasm for the opportunity to support the development of HBM’s innovative assets is equaled by our shared commitment to helping accelerate the delivery of life-changing therapies to patients,” Anshul Thakral, executive vice president and global head of PPD Biotech, said in the release.

PPD Biotech was formed several years ago, and in the past five years, has worked with more than 270 biotech and small pharma clients on more than 650 studies, a PPD spokesperson said in an email Wednesday.

“Harbour BioMed’s selection of PPD Biotech as its preferred partner is further evidence that pairing our unique biotech perspective with our scalable global development services is a powerful combination for our customers," Thakral said. "Collaborating with experts at Harbour BioMed in the early stages of its product development enabled our seasoned medical and operational oncology leaders to offer the right tailored, forward-thinking strategy."

HBM has been developing a “robust pipeline in oncology and immunology” since it was established in 2016, stated the release. The company, which is a clinical-stage biopharma company developing therapeutics in the fields of immuno-oncology and inflammatory diseases, has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Netherlands and China.

“I’m pleased that our collaborative partnership already has enabled us to achieve the important milestone of our first global [ethics committee] submission, and ahead of our aggressive schedule. We look forward to entering the clinical trial phase of our development programs with PPD as we pursue our global vision and ambition of delivering next-gen therapeutics to fulfill patient needs around the world,” Jingsong Wang, founder, chairman and CEO of HBM, said in the release.