SFCC Sfbc (MM)

SFBC International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFCC), a provider of drug development services to branded pharmaceutical, biotechnology, generic drug and medical device companies, said today it will vigorously defend a lawsuit seeking to terminate a ground lease on a portion of its Miami facility. In addition, the company said its counsel believed the lawsuit is without merit. "In this case, the landlord-lessor is attempting to misapply language in a 59-year-old document to achieve an unconscionable windfall," said company attorney Thomas Tew, senior partner based in the Miami office of Tew Cardenas LLP. The company stated the lawsuit was based on issues related to its Miami facility, all of which the company has previously disclosed and has been actively addressing with Miami-Dade officials. The company said one of its subsidiaries has been named as a defendant in a declaratory judgment action filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court by East Bay Corporation. East Bay owns a 99-year land lease for a portion of the property on which SFBC conducts certain operations in Miami. In the lawsuit, East Bay alleged that the terms of the lease had been violated and that it was entitled to immediate possession and full ownership of the land, as well as the building now owned and operated by SFBC International. The land lease involves the company's South building containing 51 beds, SFBC's clinical laboratory and its offices, a portion of the annex and part of the parking for the Property. SFBC purchased the North building, the annex, the South building and remaining land used for parking in February 2004. Other than the land and structures covered by the Land Lease, all of the remaining land and structures are owned by SFBC. The land owned by SFBC consists of approximately 122,000 square feet; it also owns approximately 37,000 square feet immediately to the north. The land subject to the land lease is approximately 125,000 square feet. Under the existing terms of the Lease, SFBC pays East Bay an annual rent of approximately $16,000 subject to future escalations. Clinical trials are conducted in both the North and South buildings. The land lease was originally entered into in January 1947 between East Bay and Ocean Freeze Corporation for a term of 99 years. SFBC International's subsidiary is a successor to that agreement. About SFBC International, Inc. SFBC International, Inc. provides early and late stage clinical drug development services to branded pharmaceutical, biotechnology, generic drug and medical device companies around the world. SFBC has more than 30 offices located in North America, Europe (including Central and Eastern Europe), South America, Asia, and Australia. In early clinical development services, SFBC specializes primarily in the areas of Phase I and early Phase II clinical trials and bioanalytical laboratory services, including early clinical pharmacology. SFBC also provides late stage clinical development services globally that focus on Phase II through IV clinical trials. SFBC also offers a range of complementary services, including data management and biostatistics, central laboratory services, medical and scientific affairs, regulatory affairs and submissions, and clinical IT solutions. Additional information is available on SFBC's website at http://www.sfbci.com.