BWI: D A Prasanna Appointed as Chairman and Managing Director for Manipal Acunova Limited

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Manipal AcuNova Ltd
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:16 PM IST (06:46 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Healthcare, biotechnology & pharmaceutical; Technology; Healthcare
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D A Prasanna Appointed as Chairman and Managing Director for Manipal Acunova Limited


Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Tuesday, July 27, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- Dr. Ramdas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group, is pleased to announce the appointment of D. A. Prasanna as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Manipal Acunova Ltd. He was previously the Vice Chairman of the company and has been handed the reigns of chairmanship from Dr Ramdas Pai. Manipal Acunova Limited is the holding company of Ecron Acunova GmbH and Acunova Life Sciences Inc.

Speaking on the development, Dr. Pai said "I served as the first Chairman of Manipal Acunova Ltd., and in the last five years this company has grown from a start-up to a successful and stable CRO. Starting services as a clinical trials lab in 2005 and BA/BE service in our Cancer Hospital, it has grown in services in India, established presence in Europe and has gained reputation for its quality of services. Recent industry survey has ranked the company amongst leading CRO's of India. Credit for much of this goes to the leadership of Prasanna and his team in India and Europe."

He further added, "I have known Prasanna and his contribution to the health care technology industry from his GE Healthcare time. He served in leadership positions in MEMG before he founded and established Manipal Acunova. I have enjoyed working with him and the eminent members of the Board. I hand over the chairmanship to him and wish him and the company a glorious journey into the future".

Speaking on his appointment Mr. Prasanna said "Our strategy is to accelerate the process of bringing new drugs to market, leveraging the two decades of experience in Western Europe with the advantages offered by the new clinical research geographies of India and Eastern Europe. We have built expertise in diabetes, cancer, diagnostics, heart disease and in stem cell therapy. We plan to expand our service to Americas and Asia. Dr Pai's guidance to Manipal Acunova is invaluable and we look forward to his continued guidance".

Manipal Acunova is a CRO founded by Prasanna and Manipal group. It offers clinical research services to pharmaceutical, biotech, nutritional, device and medical diagnostic companies. The company acquired Ecron, a European CRO in 2007 and expanded services to Western and Eastern Europe. Orbimed Advisors have provided growth funding in 2009 for expansion of services.

Prasanna has experience in leveraging Asian competitiveness building successful global business in medical technology for GE and software for Wipro. Considered a thought leader in Health care and Life Sciences, he has worked in global leadership positions. He serves on the board of various pharma companies and research institutes. Prasanna is acknowledged in the healthcare sector as the pioneer in creating a market for high tech. medical equipment and delivering clinical excellence at low patient fees in Asian Hospitals, through innovative strategies. He has also been a founding member of Wipro's team that initiated the company's entry into IT and was Vice Chairman of Wipro Ltd. Prasanna is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad & GE Global Business Leadership Program at Crotonville.

Notes to the editor

Manipal Acunova (www.ecronacunova.com) is headquartered in Bangalore, India with European HQ in Frankfurt, Germany and US HQ in Princeton, NJ. The company provides services for Phase I-IV clinical research, including clinical trial management, clinical data management, PK/PD services and central lab with its research centers in Europe and India. Ecron Acunova provides clinical development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, nutritional, device and medical diagnostics industries. High service quality, wide therapeutic expertise and continuously expanding global reach are central to the company's long lasting commitment. With over 300 employees, the organisation offers a culturally diverse and a well established network of dedicated clinical research professionals.

Manipal Education & Medical Group (MEMG): is committed to three interwoven purposes: dissipating, applying and creating knowledge. The Group has been an innovator in the field of education, medicine and research. It is a leader in delivering global standards of excellence in education and healthcare.

Manipal in Education: Manipal Education is one of the foremost academic & education services providers in India. With over six decades of excellence in providing on-campus, distance learning, online and Professional & Skills education, the group's presence includes 2 universities and over 30 institutions in India, besides colleges & university campuses in Antigua, Dubai, Malaysia & Nepal. Students from 53 nationalities are currently pursuing their Graduate, Post Graduate & Doctoral Programmes across 14 professional streams. Manipal Education has a distinguished alumni base of over 350,000.

Manipal in Healthcare: One of Asia's largest healthcare management groups with 11 hospitals, including 8 teaching hospitals, 7 rural maternity and child welfare homes.

Manipal in Research: Manipal Acunova is a full service CRO engaged in clinical development.. Stempeutics is a Stem Cell Research Center that focuses on Research, Therapeutics and Therapy in the field of regenerative medicine. Located at Manipal hospital Bangalore, Stempeutics leverages their group's healthcare infrastructure and accessibility to trained physicians and surgeons in developing a delivery mechanism for stem cell therapies.


CONTACT DETAILS
D A Prasanna, Manipal AcuNova Ltd, 080 66915701, Da.prasanna@ecronacunova.com
Priya Manikkath, Manipal Education & Medical Group, +91 9845090010, Priya.manikkath@manipalu.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, HEALTHCARE, TECHNOLOGY, HEALTHCARE

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