CINCINNATI, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kendle (Nasdaq: KNDL), a leading, global full-service clinical research organization, today announced the opening of a second office in western India in the city of Ahmedabad, further expanding its presence in the country and executing on its plans for continued growth in the Asia/Pacific region. Kendle has operated in New Delhi, India since 2004 and is targeting additional expansion in India in 2009 to meet customer needs.

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"Expansion in the Asia/Pacific region, and India in particular, is essential to our continued success as a top global CRO," said Candace Kendle, PharmD, Chairman and CEO. "Our increased presence and capacity in the region will allow us to better meet the needs of our customers who are seeking to capitalize on India's cost-effective, yet high-quality clinical research capabilities to develop their compounds. Our expansion into Ahmedabad is another step in our continued development of a best-in-class infrastructure throughout Asia."

Kendle's India operations provide customers access to the full spectrum of early and late stage clinical development services conducted by staff experienced in running all phases of trials across all therapeutic areas. The new Ahmedabad office builds on Kendle's already strong presence in New Delhi, offering increased efficiencies and geographic coverage and providing access to the talent pool in the western part of the country.

Kendle's expansion in India reflects the growing importance of the country to the global clinical research market. With more than one billion people, a growing and improving research infrastructure, an efficient and evolving regulatory setting, favorable intellectual property laws, a large pool of medical professionals and established research credentials, India is quickly becoming a world power in clinical research. Analysts estimate that by 2011 as many as 15 percent of all global trials will be conducted in India.

Kendle's office in Ahmedabad is located at Kendle India Private Limited, B/901, Safal Pegasus, 100 Feet Road, Near AUDA Garden, Prahalad Nagar, Ahmedabad - 380051, Gujarat, India. In addition to its India locations Kendle currently operates offices in the Asia/Pacific region in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, China; Singapore; and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

About Kendle

Kendle International Inc. (Nasdaq: KNDL) is a leading global clinical research organization providing the full range of early- to late-stage clinical development services for the world's biopharmaceutical industry. Our focus is on innovative solutions that reduce cycle times for our customers and accelerate the delivery of life-enhancing drugs to market for the benefit of patients worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing global providers of Phase I-IV services, we offer experience spanning 99 countries, along with industry-leading patient access and retention capabilities and broad therapeutic expertise, to meet our customers' clinical development challenges.

Kendle was recognized by FORTUNE magazine as one of the 100 fastest-growing companies in the United States for 2008. The company also has been recognized as the "Top CRO to Work With" in the CenterWatch 2007 survey of U.S. investigative sites and among the "Top CROs in Europe" in the 2008 survey of European sites.

Additional information and investor kits are available upon request from Kendle, 441 Vine Street, Suite 1200, Cincinnati, OH 45202 or from the Company's Web site at www.kendle.com .

Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, and Kendle intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to Kendle's existing and planned growth and market penetration in the Asia Pacific region, including India. Kendle cautions that these statements are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Such factors include (a) fluctuation in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to other currencies; (b) the ability to set up and sustain growth entities in the above described regions; (c) changes in the markets for the company's service offerings; (d) changes in the market for customers' products; and (e) other risks as detailed from time to time in Kendle's SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and Annual Reports on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Kendle International Inc.