Cetero Names New Chief Science Officer.

CARY, N.C. -- Dr. Murray Ducharme has been named Chief Science Officer (CSO) for Cetero Research, company officials announced today. Cetero is a world leader in early clinical, bioanalytical and niche late stage research services.

Dr. Ducharme will assume global responsibilities for all of the company's scientific and regulatory affairs. Prior to taking this role within Cetero, Ducharme was Vice President of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs for Allied Research International, headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Ducharme earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Wayne State University in Detroit after graduating with a Bachelor of Pharmacy and a Diploma in Hospital Pharmacy from the Faculte de Pharmacie of the University of Montreal. While completing a post-doctoral fellowship in Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics under the direction of Dr. David Edwards at Wayne State University, Dr. Ducharme performed several drug-drug and drug-food interaction trials with emphasis on gut wall inhibitory mechanistic pathways, a novelty at the time. This led him to an academic appointment at the University of Montreal for the last 13 years, where he has been teaching and directing graduate and post graduate students in clinical pharmacology.

Dr. Ducharme was Vice President of PK/PD at another large CRO for 8 years where he was globally responsible for the design and the pharmacokinetic and statistical analyses of approximately 600 clinical pharmacology trials per year prior to joining Allied Research International. He has published over 50 manuscripts in peer-reviewed referred journals such as Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Xenobiotica, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Pharmaceutical Research, Life Sciences and many others. He has also authored 11 chapters in pharmacokinetics and infectious diseases in Pharmacokinetics, Clinical Pharmacy and Bioequivalence textbooks. Having presented more than 75 abstracts and 150 seminars, Dr Ducharme is an accomplished speaker, who has been invited to speak by regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical companies as well as international clinical pharmacology societies throughout Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States on diverse topics within the drug development process ranging from Bioequivalence, drug-drug interactions to Population PK/PD. Dr. Ducharme is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

"We are excited to have talent of this caliber joining the Cetero organization," said Cetero CEO Jerry Merritt. "Cetero has an incredible scientific foundation with an intense focus on personalized service. Murray Ducharme is the kind of driving force that will allow Cetero to continue to provide our clients with accurate and reliable data, delivered on time."

Cetero offers a full spectrum of clinical research services to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries including drug development consultation. Cetero's clinical research capabilities and expertise are unparalleled in the clinical research industry with more than 1,600 beds, including 146 dedicated hospital beds, and a foundation of over 6,000 trials. The company also specializes in bioanalytical services, utilizing over 650 available assays and providing method development and validation along with sample analysis via LC/MS/MS and HPLC.

Cetero Research is the union of PRACS Institute Ltd., Gateway Medical Research, Ba Research International, and Allied Research International. Detailed company information is available at www.cetero.com or by contacting John Capicchioni at 201.818.9346 or [e-mail].