Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) has achieved CEO Cancer Gold Standard reaccreditation from the nonprofit CEO Roundtable on Cancer for maintaining a strong commitment to the health of company employees.

PPD encourages employee participation in health and wellness programs, including cancer prevention and screening, nutrition coaching and fitness classes, to promote healthy lifestyles and empower employees to take an active role in managing their health.

“PPD is committed to the fight against cancer,” said David Simmons, chairman and chief executive officer of PPD. “As a global CRO with deep expertise in oncology, we are dedicated to helping biopharmaceutical clients deliver safe treatments to patients more quickly, cost-effectively and with the highest possible quality. We’re pleased the CEO Roundtable on Cancer has recognized our efforts in employee health and wellness, and we applaud their worthy mission.”

Hematology and oncology form one of PPD’s leading therapeutic areas for clinical research. PPD has conducted in excess of 420 hematology and oncology studies in the past five years at more than 23,000 research sites involving greater than 100,000 patients. PPD has a global network of more than 8,000 hematology and oncology investigators.

PPD provides a tobacco-free workplace, health screenings, education and promotion of healthy lifestyles and other initiatives critical to helping detect and prevent cancer.

The CEO Roundtable on Cancer developed the Gold Standard as an employee wellness framework based on concrete actions for companies to take in five key areas: establishing policies and programs to reduce cancer risk by prohibiting tobacco use and supporting tobacco cessation efforts; promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition and weight management; providing health insurance options that include detecting cancer at its earliest stages, access to quality care and participation in clinical trials; promoting employee awareness of these initiatives; and supporting the needs of cancer survivors in the workplace.

Nearly 200 private, nonprofit and government employers in a wide range of occupational categories have earned Gold Standard accreditation, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a number of NCI-designated cancer centers.