Pharm-Olam International Opens Office in South Africa

HOUSTON, TEXAS Nov. 17, 2006. Pharm-Olam International Ltd. (POI), a multi-national CRO to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, announces the opening of its new office in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa.

"Pharm-Olam included South Africa in our 700 patient anthracycline-naive breast cancer study, and we had high recruitment rates there", said Iain Gordon, Director of Global Business Development, "however, South Africa is also an ideal trial location for many other areas such as infectious disease, neurological disorders, and other oncology trials due to their diverse population and fast regulatory approval."

South Africa has an estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence of 21% in a nation with over 45 million people, and the largest estimated population of people living with HIV/AIDS at 5.3 million.

Pharm-Olam has appointed Frans van Wyk as Country Manager for South Africa. Since 1998 he was worked in South Africa for large CROs as a CRA and Project Manager for Phase I to III projects. He also served as the Director of Phase I Logistics at an SMO where he was responsible for business development and project management.

With the addition of South Africa, POI now has 22 offices with their expansion into Brazil and Argentina earlier this year. For further information about Pharm-Olam please contact Iain Gordon at igordon@pharm-olam.com.


About Pharm-Olam International

Pharm-Olam International is a multi-national contract research organization offering a wide range of comprehensive, clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. From pre-clinical to Phase IV, POI focuses on delivering the highest quality data, achieving targeted enrollment and meeting projected timelines.