--Covance expands presence in Asia-Pacific to increase patient access, help biopharmaceutical clients reduce drug development timelines -- PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) today announced the opening of new clinical development offices in Seoul, South Korea and Mumbai, India and office expansions in Tokyo, Japan and Hong Kong, China to accommodate growing demand for clinical development services in Asia-Pacific. Covance has provided clinical trial support in Asia-Pacific for more than two decades, starting with offices in Australia and then Singapore. Operations expanded quickly with the set up of a clinical development office in Beijing, China and a second office in Shanghai, offering both clinical and central laboratory services. The new clinical development office in Seoul will help Covance further increase patient access in the region, while supporting its regional network of field-based CRAs throughout Asia-Pacific. The new Mumbai office will function as the main clinical trial support hub for the Indian sub-continent. Covance also expanded existing clinical development offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo, Japan to increase service capacity. The Tokyo office expansion provides additional capacity for both clinical development and central laboratory services, including sales, administration, and kit customization for the Japanese market. "Our new Asia-Pacific offices support our global expansion strategy, which targets the most qualified investigators and appropriate patient populations in a region that is increasingly important to clinical trials," said Nick Wright, vice president and general manager, clinical development services Asia-Pacific, Covance. "These offices will help us increase our clients' Phase II/III clinical trial productivity by providing additional capacity to execute clinical studies with a full range of services." "Covance is committed to delivering outstanding drug development services and building deeper strategic relationships with our clients," said Rick Cimino, president, clinical development services, Covance. "To enable us to meet this commitment and provide more effective clinical trial solutions, we have significantly expanded our presence in emerging markets in 2009 by opening nine new offices in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Eastern Europe." Covance offers clinical development services in 55 countries, including emerging markets across Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. With a full suite of services to take a drug through all stages of development, Covance offers extensive clinical and therapeutic expertise, global reach, proactive project management, and strong investigator site relationships to consistently deliver high quality data on time. About Covance Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with annual revenues greater than $1.7 billion, global operations in more than 25 countries, and more than 10,000 employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through its website at http://www.covance.com/. Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward-looking statements including the statements contained herein regarding anticipated trends in the Company's business are based largely on management's expectations and are subject to and qualified by risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, competitive factors, outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical industry, levels of industry research and development spending, the Company's ability to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel, the fixed price nature of contracts or the loss of large contracts, and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.covance.com/ DATASOURCE: Covance Inc. CONTACT: Media Relations for Covance Inc., +1-609-419-2466, or Investor Relations for Covance Inc., +1-609-452-4807 Web Site: http://www.covance.com/

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