A team of PPD clinical researchers was honored February 16 by British magazine PharmaTimes with the publication’s 2012 Clinical Team of the Year award.

The award capped a long competition that began in February 2011. During the year, a variety of exercises winnowed the initial field of 270 clinical researchers and 41 United Kingdom National Health Service research sites down to the top individuals, teams and organizations. Those finalists competed before a panel of judges in England in November.

In the demanding seven-hour team exercise, the PPD team and five other teams raced the clock to tackle a series of challenging drug-development scenarios. Each team then presented its solutions. PPD’s crew came out on top.

"To win the PharmaTimes Clinical Team of the Year Award requires outstanding technical competence and the ability to work under pressure whilst still maintaining superb team dynamics," said Sean Morgan-Jones, director of PharmaTimes. "PPD's achievement in securing the win should give them great confidence in their abilities as a first-rate clinical research team."

"PPD's clinical research professionals embody our company's expertise, commitment and passion for delivering excellence in our clients' important research programs," said Roger Newberry, PPD vice president of clinical management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "We congratulate our colleagues on their achievement and are pleased that PPD's leadership in clinical research continues to be recognized by our industry peers."

The competition was created in 1999 to provide pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations and research sites of the UK’s National Health Service an opportunity to test their professional skills in a program of competency-based exercises developed through cross-industry collaboration.

PPD, headquartered in Wilmington, is a leading global contract research organization for the pharmaceutical industry. It has offices in 45 countries and employs more than 11,500 professionals worldwide. For information, visit www.ppdi.com.