METRICS INC. NAMED ‘INDUSTRY OF THE YEAR’

Pharmaceutical company commended for growth, industry excellence and community investment

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Metrics Inc., one of the fastest–growing contract pharmaceutical development laboratories in the United States, has been named “Industry of the Year” by its local economic development commission.

In making the announcement today, the Pitt County Development Commission commended Metrics for its commitment to industry excellence, to its employees and to its local community.

‘Metrics is an outstanding company in every way,” said Wanda Yuhas, executive director of the Pitt County Development Commission. “A local start–up that has grown into an industry leader, Metrics is a source of pride for us all.”

Metrics, headquartered in Greenville, N.C., provides quality pharmaceutical formulation, clinical trial material (Phase I, II and III) and commercial manufacturing, and analytical development/validation services to the pharmaceutical industry. This year, Metrics is completing an $18–million, 47,000–square–foot facility addition that will nearly double its analytical and manufacturing space and dramatically expand service capabilities to clients.

“All of us at Metrics are truly honored to be recognized as Industry of the Year in Pitt County,” said Phil Hodges, president. “We are proud to call Greenville home, and prouder still to know that our work here has made a positive contribution to the economic and social well being of our community.”

Included among the many reasons the Pitt County Development Commission cited for bestowing the honor on Metrics:

• Economic development. In the last 13 years, Metrics has created more than 220 high–wage, high–benefits jobs in a region of North Carolina that historically has been financially dependent on lower–salary agricultural and manufacturing jobs. Metrics’ salaries are roughly twice the average for the county in which it operates. Moreover, the company has invested more than $35 million in property, plant and equipment. The company has grown at a rate exceeding 20 percent annually since it was founded in 1994.


• Industry excellence. Metrics scientists continually surpass the highest industry standards. The company’s Good Manufacturing Practices standards are so exacting that Metrics and nearby East Carolina University (24,000 students) jointly developed a curriculum on the subject for its chemistry department. A senior Metrics scientist now teaches the course, and many of Metrics’ best recruits emerge from the program.


• Scientific excellence. Metrics’ staff has a patent pending for a controlled release technology, and another patent pending for unique formulations for diabetic patients. The intellectual property emerged when Metrics employees creatively sought solutions to their clients’ problems.


• Employee training and development. Metrics continually invests in its employees’ knowledge and skills. New Metrics employees spend their first three months of work in training, and experienced employees spend about two weeks in training annually. Overall, Metrics allocates 15.5 percent of its annual budget toward employee training. Metrics also reimburses 100 percent of tuition expenses for employees. In addition, Metrics employees have worked nearly 2 million hours since 2001 without a lost–time incident — an achievement the company attributes to its strong safety program.


• Community involvement and support. Metrics served as a leader in the capital building campaign recently undertaken by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pitt County. At the request of employees, Metrics has contributed to 75 local charitable organizations since 2005. The company conducts on–site blood drives for the American Red Cross and clean–up sessions for the state’s Adopt–A–Highway program.

Metrics recently opened four new analytical labs, boosting capacity for service by 40 percent. The labs will be fully operational, validated and ready to handle projects by second quarter 2008. The expansion to Metrics’ existing 44,000–square–foot pharmaceutical development laboratories also includes larger scale manufacturing (Phase III to commercial), stability storage, a dedicated laboratory for cytotoxic and potent compounds, and a microbiology laboratory.

To learn more about Metrics and its facility expansion, visit www.metricsinc.com