December 19, 2006

BattelleCRO, Inc. AND SIPLAS RESEARCH ORGANIZATION INC. SIGN JOINT MARKETING AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND SERVICE FOR PHARMACEUTICAL, BIOTECHNOLOGY, AND MEDICAL DEVICE CLIENTS

Newton, Massachusetts, and Bogota, Colombia - December 5, 2006--BattelleCRO, Inc. (BattelleCRO) a leading full-service Contract Research Organization with more than 10 years experience, announced today that it has signed a non-exclusive joint marketing agreement with SIPLAS Research Organization, Inc. (SIPLAS RO). SIPLAS RO is a full-service Contract Research Organization, which provides Phase II-IV services for clinical trials conducted in Latin America.

This collaboration allows for the seamless integration of both companies' resources in responding to the global clinical trial demands of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device clients. By being able to jointly market each other's capabilities within their respective countries, clients can gain the advantage of working with a multinational organization without having to absorb the additional overhead of paying for infrastructure when it is not being fully utilized.

"This agreement with SIPLAS RO is part of our overall international partner strategy. Extending our global reach into the Latin American countries provides us not only with access to a large treatment naïve population but allows us to take full advantage of local medical, clinical, and regulatory expertise," remarked Howard Golub, PhD, MD, President of BattelleCRO, Inc.

"Working closely with our international partners like SIPLAS RO provides a number of distinct advantages for our clients, specifically: access to patients around the globe and expert resources that understand the regulatory environment, the language, and the local customs. Partnering allows us to place studies into the countries where it is most appropriate and not where we happen to have excess capacity," added Peter C. Powers, Vice President, Business Development of BattelleCRO, Inc.

"The alliance with BattelleCRO perfectly integrates with our objective to support global trials. It gives our company access to the operational experience and portfolio of projects of our partner and benefits our customers by giving them access to an underutilized region of Latin America," says Juan D. Gutierrez, President of SIPLAS Research Organization, Inc.

About BattelleCRO

BattelleCRO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Battelle that supports Phase I-IV clinical development programs for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, nutraceutical, government clients, and bio-defense efforts (including chemical and biomedical countermeasures). As a full service one-stop provider, BattelleCRO supports the client's overall market strategy from toxicology, through IND submissions, clinical trials, FDA approval, and post-marketing monitoring. For more information, visit www.BattelleCRO.com or contact Peter C. Powers at (617) 618-5103 or ppowers@battellecro.com.

About SIPLAS RO

SIPLAS Research Organization is a specialty, technology-based CRO dedicated to conducting superior Phase II-IV clinical trials in the Andean region countries of Latin America. Our network of qualified investigators in multiple therapeutic areas is located in premier sites in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela. Our geographic reach is extended to additional countries in Latin America through partnerships with other local CROs in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Access to these research sites allow SIPLAS RO to meet the increasing needs of biotech and pharmaceutical companies, with enrollment speed unsurpassed anywhere. SIPLAS RO maintains global standards and implements the best talent, infrastructure and technology available to deliver developed-world services from that region. For more information, visit www.siplasro.com or contact Juan D. Gutierrez at (617) 870-5913 or jdgutier@siplasro.com .

About Battelle

Battelle is the world's largest non-profit independent research and development organization, with 20,000 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including five national laboratories Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle conducts $3.7 billion in R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management, and technology commercialization. Battelle provides innovative solutions to some of the world's most important problems including global climate change, sustainable energy technologies, high performance materials, next generation healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, and advanced security solutions for people, infrastructure, and the nation. Battelle has a long history of developing successful commercial products in collaboration with its clients, ranging from products to fight diabetes, cancer, and heart disease to the development of the office copier machine (Xerox). As a non-profit charitable trust with an eye toward the future, Battelle actively supports and promotes science and math education. For more information, visit www.Battelle.org or contact Michael Brooker at (614) 424-6372 email: brookerm@battelle.org.