97-12-12:  MEDICAL RESEARCH FIRM TO MOVE TO NORTH FORK RESEARCH PARK



By Charlotte Crystal



PRA International, a Vienna, Va.-based medical research company, is
strengthening its ties to U.Va. by forming a strategic alliance with
U.Va.'s Medical School and, in January 1999, moving its local
operations into the Universityıs Research Park at North Fork.

"We are eager to expand the collaboration between PRA and the
University," said Leonard W. Sandridge, U.Va.'s executive vice
president and chief financial officer. "We are pleased to play a role
in encouraging an important local company to remain in our region."

PRA International has signed a lease with the University of Virginia
Foundation for an 80,000-square-foot building, making the company the
research park's third tenant. The company employs 190 people in
Charlottesville, who are spread around the city in three locations.

"We liked the beautiful environment that North Fork offers our
employees, its location near the airport, the opportunity to develop a
closer affiliation with the University, and the University's dedicated
efforts to accommodate our unique needs," said PRA Chief Executive
Officer Earle Martin.

The new alliance between PRA International and the University's Medical
School is expected to expose medical faculty and students to the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries while providing PRA
International with access to University experts in radiology, advanced
biostatistical methods and other medical fields. The alliance will
begin with the Department of Radiology and is slated to expand to
include outpatient facilities and the Department of Health Evaluation
Services.

Under the proposed alliance, the University's Department of Radiology
will become a central reading facility for X-rays and magnetic
resonance imaging tests for PRA International's clinical trials for
cancer and other treatments.