Major CRO and soon-to-be Thermo Fisher unit PPD saw a major boost in sales in its financials this week as it continued to break free of the pandemic chaos that engulfed the CRO sector in 2020.
In its last financial guidance as an independent company, PPD saw sales up a massive 28.5% in the first quarter, rising to $1.37 billion on the year-ago period. Little surprise, given that this time last year the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping across the West, causing lockdowns and major disruptions to CROs and clinical trials.
PPD’s worst period was the second quarter of last year, when sales edged up just 1.4%, with its Clinical Development Services unit down by 2.2%. But it bounced back throughout the year. In the first quarter, Clinical Development Services revenue reached $1.1 billion, a growth of 28.3%.
There was the same trend for its Laboratory Services unit, which saw sales of $261 million, up just shy of 30% on the year-ago period.
This will be good news for its new parent, medtech testing giant Thermo Fisher, which earlier this month snapped up PPD for $17.4 billion.
“PPD’s strong financial performance has continued,” said David Simmons, PPD’s chairman and CEO. “In addition, our more than 39% growth in net authorizations further underscores the demand for our differentiated capabilities across both the clinical development and labs services segments.
“Our talented colleagues have extended their track record of gaining share and delivering for customers. As we now anticipate joining Thermo Fisher Scientific later this year, the opportunities to bring meaningful innovation to market faster and more efficiently are as solid as ever.”