RALEIGH, North Carolina, June 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- PRA International, a leading Clinical Research Organization (CRO), announced today the appointment of Hani S. Zaki as Senior Vice President of our Late Phase Services (LPS). Mr. Zaki will be responsible for all aspects of this group, which is focused on successful post-approval activities.

PRA is very excited to be adding Mr. Zaki's depth of industry expertise to our LPS team. Bringing someone of Hani's caliber to an already strong team will further strengthen our ability to grow in this developing area, said Steve Powell, Senior Vice President, Clinical Informatics Late Phase Services. Hani joins PRA at a time of significant growth in LPS. Today's post-approval market is offering more opportunities than ever due to global trends for mandated studies and expansion of registries and risk mitigation strategies required by regulators worldwide.

PRA's recent success in the late-phase market has been driven by the leadership of Maria Harrison, PRA's Vice President of LPS, who will continue her successful role leading LPS' operational management as well as the development of the group's dynamic delivery model.

We believe the combination of Maria's operational and scientific knowledge and Hani's focused post-approval business acumen will provide our customers with a world-class, global team, Powell said.

Mr. Zaki has more than 25 years of industry experience in both operational and business development management in the pharmaceutical, CRO and late-phase industries. Most recently, he served as corporate vice president and general manager for another major CRO's post-approval division. Mr. Zaki has held other commercial positions, such as VP of business development for a global CRO, and has directed market development, licensing and merger and acquisition activities in pharma. His operational experience includes leading the US clinical anti-infective operations for Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now Sanofi Aventis). He holds a bachelor's in microbiology from Rutgers College, a master's in public health in epidemiology from the Tulane University School of Public Health Tropical Medicine, and an MBA in pharmaceutical marketing from St. Joseph's University.

Ms. Harrison has over 20 years of experience in managing all aspects of drug development in both the pharmaceutical and CRO industries. Before joining PRA, Ms. Harrison was the VP of operations in North America for clinical and post-approval services at a large CRO, where she had overall responsibility for all operational aspects of over 100 projects.

PRA's highly experienced LPS team assists sponsors with the post-marketing process by planning and conducting safety-surveillance studies, large simple trials, registries, restricted access programs and risk management programs. Since 2006, PRA has conducted or provided related services for more than 175 late phase studies in multiple therapeutic indications in 42 countries.

About PRA International

PRA International conducts clinical trials in more than 75 countries across 6 continents and provides services through all phases of clinical development. PRA performs studies in all therapeutic areas, with specialization in Oncology, Neurosciences, Respiratory/Allergy, Cardiovascular and Infectious Diseases. In the last five years, PRA has supported over 2,700 clinical trials through its 37 global offices.

PRA's therapeutic expertise, global reach and project experience, combined with extensive local knowledge and our differentiating PERSONAL ELEMENT enable our project teams to deliver consistent and on time performance for our clients. This unique PRA philosophy - THE PERSONAL ELEMENT - recognizes that true client service comes only from trained, empowered and dedicated employees who are encouraged to use innovation and their personal commitment to accelerate the development lifecycle.

To learn more about PRA International, please visit http://www.PRAinternational.com, email Endpoints@PRAintl.com or call our Global Headquarters at +1-919-786-8200.

SOURCE: PRA International

CONTACT: Roger Boutin, Director of Marketing of PRA International, Inc.,+1-434-951-3924