Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered Trademark- Holdings
358 South Main Street
Burlington, NC 27215
Telephone: 336-584-5171
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact: 336-436-4855 Shareholder Direct: 800-LAB-0401
Pamela Sherry www.labcorp.com
LABCORP TO PROVIDE CENTRALIZED LABORATORY SERVICES FOR
CLINICAL TRIALS IN LATIN AMERICA
BURLINGTON, N.C., June 12, 2000 - The clinical trials testing
division of Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered
Trademark- Holdings (LabCorp-Registered Trademark-; NYSE: LH) can
now support clinical trials in Latin America with routine safety
testing through the company's standardized laboratory in Miami.
In addition, Latin American investigators will have access to
LabCorp's full menu of more than 2,500 tests, including many
advanced esoteric assays, through its network of other testing
facilities.
"Latin America is the world's third most active region for
clinical trials after the U.S. and Europe," said Scott Neilson,
vice president and general manager of LabCorp's clinical trials
business. "This move enables us to bring our extensive
capabilities to our customers' drug development efforts in Latin
America and centralize laboratory testing throughout the region.
By using LabCorp's facilities in Florida, we can provide enormous
capacity while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and
maintaining method consistency and data combinability which are
critically important to our customers."
Sue Hwang, LabCorp's director of operations for clinical
trials, added, "Sample transit time, costs and Customs issues
have made it difficult for central laboratories to support
clinical trials in Latin America. LabCorp's extensive operations
in Miami, a transportation hub serving Latin America, allow us to
accession samples even more quickly and economically than if they
had to be routed to a laboratory in Latin America. Because of existing
courier routes and logistics issues, samples traveling between Latin
American countries typically go through U.S. Customs in Miami. By testing
samples in Miami, LabCorp can lower not only study budgets but
also the risks associated with multiple flight segments."
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LabCorp projects that infectious disease testing, including
HIV phenotyping/genotyping, will initially account for most of
its Latin America clinical trials volume. The region has the
world's fourth-highest incidence of HIV/AIDS.
With U.S. headquarters in Raritan, N.J., and European
headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium, LabCorp's clinical trials
division is a leading central laboratory supporting global
pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device clinical trials
with method development and a broad menu of safety and efficacy
testing from drug discovery through phase IV.
With headquarters in Burlington, N.C., Laboratory
Corporation of America-Registered Trademark- Holdings is a
national clinical laboratory organization, which operates
facilities for conducting clinical assays and diagnostic testing
throughout the U.S. The company had 1999 revenues of $1.7
billion and employs approximately 18,000.
The Company noted that each of the above forward-looking
statements is subject to change based on various important factors,
including without limitation, competitive actions in the marketplace
and adverse actions of governmental and other third-party payers.
Further information on potential factors that could affect the Company's
financial results is included in the Company's Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 1999 and subsequent SEC filings.
For further information, business/financial reporters should
contact Pam Sherry, Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered
Trademark- Holdings, 358 South Main Street, Burlington, NC 27215,
phone: 336-436-4855, e-mail: [email protected]. Trade journal
reporters should contact Amy Smith, Worldwide Marketing Manager,
Clinical Trials, LabCorp, 69 First Avenue, Raritan, NJ 08869;
phone: 908-526-2400, e-mail: [email protected].
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