Drug development contractor PPD Inc. said Tuesday it will expand laboratory services into Singapore in order to meet growing demand in Southeast Asia.

The lab is expected to open in the middle of 2009 and will service biopharmaceutical clients. PPD did not disclose the cost of the expansion.

The company already has a presence in Singapore, providing clinical trial management, patient recruitment and regulatory services for drug developers.

"Southeast Asia is an attractive region for conducting clinical trials, and Singapore is an important biopharmaceutical hub," said Agostino L. Fede, senior vice president of PPD and head of PPD's global central labs, in a statement.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been outsourcing more of their clinical development work to companies like PPD as they try to cut costs. Over the last year, many clinical research organizations have expanded their presence in Asia as their clients move overseas to take advantage of lower costs and new pools of potential clinical trial subjects.

Source: CNN Money