PPD was founded in 1985. The company was incorporated in January 1989 in North Carolina. Building on outsourcing relationships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, the company established its discovery services business in 1997. PPD's corporate mission is to help clients maximize the return on their research and development investments, key parts of its strategy to accomplish this mission include: Continuing to build upon core competencies; Continuing to provide a broad range of integrated drug discovery and development services and products; To further develop intellectual property rights; Continuing to incorporate advanced technologies into our service offerings; Continuing to pursue collaborative drug candidate licensing relationships; Continuing strategic global expansion to meet client needs; and Continuing to pursue strategic acquisitions and investments. PPD has staff in 24 countries and has 50 registered subsidiaries worldwide covering Asia, South and North America, Australia and Europe.