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SGS Life Science Services, a division of the SGS Group, announced the expansion of its Phase I Unit in Antwerp, Belgium.

SGS, a leading European CRO in early phase clinical trials, has added 22 new hospitalization beds to its clinical pharmacology unit in the Antwerp Stuivenberg hospital. This addition is comprised of a new subunit including: 6 wards with 3 - 5 beds each, a new recreation room, sample preparation laboratory and additional auxiliary services. This new subunit brings the total number of beds to 102 for Belgium, and brings SGS's global capacity to 184 beds.

The additional beds and auxiliary services will be used to support larger trials, and also adds flexibility to the Phase I Unit, as this new satellite can be isolated from the others and used for smaller stand alone trials running in parallel.

"We wanted to boost the capacity of the unit to increase our flexibility in study scheduling, which will be a significant advantage for our clients.  This extension allows us to maintain the same level of quality that has always existed at SGS,"
said Omer Van Schoor, the Director of Clinical Pharmacology at the SGS Antwerp facility.

The new infrastructure is in place and is already scheduled for use in several upcoming trials.

SGS Life Science Services is a leading contract service organization providing clinical research services and quality control testing. We serve a variety of Life Science companies including pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device manufacturers. SGS provides clinical trial management (Phase I to IV) and services encompassing bioequivalence studies, bio-analytical services, data management, biometrics and regulatory consultancy. Our quality control services complete our portfolio by offering analytical chemistry, microbiology, and toxicology tests that meet regulatory compliance. SGS Life Science Services is a truly global organization with approximately 1300 employees, located in 22 facilities, in 14 countries.

Florent Hediard
173 rue de la Croix Nivert, 75015 Paris- France
Tel: +33 (0) 1 53 78 18 74
Fax: +33 (0)1 45 54 28 64
Email
www.sgs.com/cro

The SGS Group is the global leader and innovator in inspection, verification, testing and certification services. Founded in 1878, SGS is recognised as the global benchmark in quality and integrity. With more than 55,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,000 offices and laboratories around the world.