STAMFORD, Connecticut, May 24, 2000––Worldwide transportation leader in the field of clinical trials, World Courier continues to expand its international office network in emerging markets with the official opening of a new office in Beijing, China.

This newest location in the World Courier network is now fully operational and able to coordinate the pick-up, export and delivery of a full range of biomedical shipments––from ambient to temperature-sensitive to infectious. This milestone initiative follows the opening of seven other new corporate offices in recent months including MOSCOW, Russia; DELHI, India; PRAGUE, Czech Republic; BUDAPEST, Hungary; WARSAW, Poland; DUBLIN, Ireland; and HELSINKI, Finland.

"The opening of these new offices promises to lead to some exciting new opportunities for both our clients and for World Courier worldwide," says company President and Chief Executive Officer, Wayne B. Heyland. "While international pharmaceutical companies have long recognized the benefits of conducting clinical trials in emerging markets such as China and India, the lack of globally-integrated transportation services needed to assure the proper handling of samples and materials has, until now, presented a huge barrier.

"Bringing a new drug to market today can take seven to ten years and cost in excess of $350 million," says Mr. Heyland. "We are confident that the strength of our office network, the knowledge and training of our worldwide staff, and our unparalleled experience handling these types of shipments for more than 15 years can help our clients realize significant savings in both time and development costs."
Incorporated in 1969, World Courier has set the standard for worldwide time-sensitive transportation and is the acknowledged leader in the handling of clinical trial shipments. Specializing in the handling of temperature-sensitive and infectious samples, World Courier currently manages approximately 95% of the world's clinical trials requiring the use of premium specialty courier services. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, World Courier maintains a comprehensive international network of 90 wholly-owned offices operating in 42 countries on seven continents.
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For further information, please contact:

North America
Dennis Tselentis
Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales
World Courier Inc.
1313 - 4th Avenue
New Hyde Park, NY, 11040
Telephone: (516) 354-2600
Toll-free: 1-800-231-7227
Fax: (516) 354-2713
E-mail: contact@worldcourier.com


Europe, Middle East & Africa
Noël Foucart
Director, Sales and Marketing
World Courier Belgium N.V.
6 A Hermesstraat
B-1930 Zaventem
Belgium
Telephone: 32/2/712-5080
Fax: 32/2/712-5089
E-mail: nfoucart@worldcourier.be

Latin America
Carlos Jankowski
Regional Director, Latin America
World Courier Argentina S.A.
Ave. Corrientes 316, Piso 7
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Telephone: 54/11/4328-8300
Fax: 54/11/4328-5879
E-mail: jankowski@worldcourier.com.ar

Asia Pacific
Korhan Yalcinyuva
Regional Director, Asia Pacific
World Courier Australia Pty. Ltd.
Unit 1, 8 Lord Street
Botany N.S.W. 2019
Australia
Telephone: 61/2/8335-9100
Fax: 61/2/8335-9170
E-mail: kyalcinyuva@worldcourier.com.au