Wilmington, N.C.-based PPD opened a pharmacovigilance and medical communications center in Sofia, Bulgaria, in response to growing client demand for drug safety, medical information and medical writing services in the region. This new facility is PPD’s largest safety center and its third European hub for medical communications contact center services. The company also has centers in Athlone, Ireland, and Stockholm, Sweden.

"Expanding our safety and medical communications operations in Europe strengthens our ability to bring high quality global health care expertise to provide these services in an efficient, cost-effective and regulatory compliant manner," said PPD’s chief medical officer Christine Dingivan, M.D., in a statement. "There is strong demand for both pre- and post-approval safety services, and we have an experienced management team on the ground in Bulgaria to oversee our operations and to create customized programs that meet client needs."

PPD already has hired more than 20 employees for the Sofia center—most of them physicians, pharmacists, nurses and medical specialists—and plans to hire 200 more in the coming year.