PPD Promotes Fred Eshelman to Executive Chairman; Ernest Mario Assumes Role of Lead Independent Director; PPD Names David Grange as New Chief Executive Officer

WILMINGTON, N.C.--(Business Wire)--
PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) today announced that its board of directors has
promoted Fredric N. Eshelman, vice chairman and chief executive officer of PPD,
to the newly created position of executive chairman of the board of directors.
Ernest Mario, Ph.D., who has served as the non-executive chairman of the board
of PPD since 1993, has been appointed lead independent director. PPD also
announced that Brig. Gen. David L. Grange (retired), a member of PPD`s board of
directors since 2003, has been named PPD`s new chief executive officer. Grange
will report to Eshelman in his new capacity as executive chairman. These
appointments will be effective July 1, 2009.

In his new position, Eshelman will continue to be responsible for providing
strategic direction to the company and overseeing the implementation of the
company`s strategic and business plans, including the company`s compound
partnering business. Working closely with Grange, he will also focus on key
initiatives, strategic outsourcing plans and core aspects of the company`s
operations.

Grange comes to PPD after a decade of service to the McCormick Foundation, first
as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and as president and
chief executive officer since 2005. The foundation is a nonprofit organization
that conducts grant-making programs and other operations, and is one of the
nation`s largest charities, with $1.2 billion in assets. Prior to joining the
foundation in 1999, Grange had a 30-year career in the U.S. Army, with his final
position as commanding general of the First Infantry Division, known as the Big
Red One. During his military career, Grange served as a Ranger, Green Beret,
Aviator, Infantryman and a member of Delta Force. While stationed at the
Pentagon, Grange served as the deputy director and director of Army Current
Operations and Readiness and Mobilization, and was responsible for coordinating
military support within the United States in response to natural disasters and
for domestic preparedness against acts of terrorism.

Grange attended U.S. Army Infantry, Special Forces, Ranger, HALO, scuba, Air
Assault and aviation training, the U.S. Marine Corp Command and General Staff
College, the British SAS course, the Delta course and the National War College.
He completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Georgia College and earned a
master`s degree in public service at Western Kentucky University.

"General Grange brings a great combination of global geographical experience and
knowledge, demonstrated leadership from his business and military careers,
financial management experience and first-hand knowledge of PPD as a member of
our board since 2003," said Eshelman. "I look forward to working closely with
General Grange and his executive management team to chart our course and execute
our business plans to drive long-term shareholder value."

Eshelman continued, "On behalf of the board of directors, I extend our sincere
appreciation to Dr. Mario for his outstanding service as our non-executive
chairman for the past 16 years. He and I have worked closely together over this
period to grow PPD, and I look forward to his continued leadership and counsel
as our lead independent director."

PPD will conduct a live conference call and audio webcast tomorrow, May 20,
2009, at 9 a.m. ET to discuss these matters. A Q&A session will follow. All
interested parties can access the webcast through the Presentations & Events
link in the Investors section of the PPD Web site at http://www.ppdi.com. The
webcast will be archived shortly after the call for on-demand replay. The
conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet, and the live call may
be accessed via the following direct dial numbers:

Participant dial in: +1 877 644 0692 (U.S./Canada)
+1 973 200 3387 (International)
Conference ID: 10787733

PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing discovery,
development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs.
Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device,
academic and government organizations. With offices in 38 countries and
approximately 10,500 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative
technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help its
clients and partners maximize returns on their R&D investments and accelerate
the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics to patients. For more
information, visit our Web site at http://www.ppdi.com.

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and
assumptions contained in this news release, including expectations and
assumptions regarding the above-named individuals and their future contributions
and success, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Although PPD attempts to be accurate in making these
forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might
differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition,
other important factors which could cause results to differ materially include
the following: the ability to attract and retain key personnel; competition
within the outsourcing industry; the integration of the above-named individuals
into their new roles; success in sales growth; loss of large contracts;
increased cancellation rates; project delays; economic conditions and
outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device,
academic and government industry segments; risks associated with acquisitions
and investments, such as impairments; risks associated with the development and
commercialization of drugs, including earnings dilution and obtaining regulatory
approval; risks associated with and dependence on collaborative relationships;
rapid technological advances that make our products and services less
competitive; risks that we may not continue our dividend policy; and the other
risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for PPD, copies of
which are available free of charge upon request from the PPD investor relations
department.

PPD, Inc.
Media:
Sue Ann Pentecost, 919-456-5890
sueann.pentecost@rtp.ppdi.com
or
Analysts/Investors:
Luke Heagle, 910-558-7585
luke.heagle@wilm.ppdi.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009