exv99w1

Exhibit 99.1

eResearchTechnology Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2007 Results

Q4 2007 Net Revenues — $28.9 million vs. $19.9 million in Q4 2006 — a 45% increase
Q4 2007 Diluted Net Income per Share — $0.10 vs. $0.04 in Q4 2006
Q4 2007 New Bookings Increase to $39.2 million

PHILADELPHIA, February 26, 2008/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — eResearchTechnology, Inc. (eRT), (Nasdaq: ERES - News), a leading provider of centralized ECG, eClinical technology, ePRO and other services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and related industries, announced today results for the fourth quarter of 2007 and the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2007.

On November 28, 2007, the Company acquired Covance Cardiac Safety Services, Inc. (CCSS) and entered into a ten-year exclusive marketing agreement with Covance, Inc. Because there is only one month of impact on its results for 2007, the Company reported key statistics with and without the CCSS acquisition. Unless otherwise noted, all growth numbers refer to changes from the same period a year ago.

Highlights of the fourth quarter and the year were:

	•		Record quarterly net revenue of $28.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2007 (including $1.5 million from the CCSS transaction) a 45.1% increase from the prior year’s quarter. Net revenues for the full year 2007 were $98.7 million.

	•		Gross margin percentage increased to 52.6% which would have been higher by 2.5% had we excluded the CCSS acquisition (or 55.1%); for the full year 2007, the gross margin percentage was 50.7%.

	•		Pre-tax margin percentage increased to 27.8% which would have been higher by 3.3% had we excluded the CCSS acquisition (or 31.1%); for the full year 2007, the pre-tax margin percentage was 24.8%.

	•		Diluted net income per share increased to $0.10, which would have been $0.01 higher had we excluded the CCSS acquisition (or $0.11); for the full year 2007, diluted net income per share was $0.29.

	•		New bookings increased to $39.2 million, an increase of 42.5%; for 2007 new bookings were a record $138.6 million.

	•		Backlog increased to $140.2 million as of December 31, 2007 (including the CCSS acquisition), an increase of 45.4% from the prior year.

The Company reported net income of $5.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, a 129.9% increase from $2.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Diluted net income per share was $0.10 in the fourth quarter of 2007 (which was negatively affected by the CCSS transaction by $0.01), compared to $0.04 in the fourth quarter of 2006.

“We feel that the fourth quarter was a very successful one — we recorded the highest level of net revenues in eRT’s history, increased net income by 129.9%, recorded a near record level of new bookings, processed the highest number of ECG transactions in eRT’s history and completed the acquisition of CCSS,” said Dr. Michael McKelvey, President and CEO of eRT. “For the year, we grew net revenues by 14.3% and the bottom line by 83.5%, demonstrating the leverage of our

operating model. We also recorded the highest level of new bookings in eRT’s history. The CCSS integration is moving along as planned and will be an important factor in our long-term growth.”

For the full year ended December 31, 2007, the Company reported net revenues of $98.7 million compared to $86.4 million for the full year ended December 31, 2006, a 14.3% increase. The Company’s gross margin percentage for 2007 was 50.7% compared to 48.4% for 2006. Pre-tax income percentage for 2007 was 24.8% compared to 15.3% for 2006. The Company reported net income of $15.3 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for 2007 compared to net income of $8.3 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for 2006, an 83.5% increase. The Company’s effective tax rate was 37.6% for 2007 compared to 37.1% for 2006.

Cash flow from operations for 2007 was $36.0 million, up from $16.3 million in 2006. After completing the CCSS transaction of $35.8 million, eRT ended the year with $46.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments.

Commenting on the year as a whole, Dr. McKelvey said “Our success in 2007 gives us a strong basis for growth in 2008 and beyond. We enter 2008 with a healthy backlog, a good trajectory of revenue growth, enhanced scale and increased market share from our recent acquisition, a strong pipeline of bookings opportunities and a state-of-the-art new workflow system (EXPeRT^® 2) that provides us with a scalable platform for operational excellence. The clinical trials industry continues to focus on the importance of cardiac safety and running Thorough QTc trials. In addition, we also invested in our eClinical line of business and launched a new line of business — electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO).” As for 2008, Dr. Michael McKelvey concluded: “The strong momentum that we developed throughout 2007, along with a healthy overall business environment for cardiac safety and the need for technology-based solutions for clinical trials, gives us confidence that we will have a successful 2008.”

2008 Guidance

The Company issued guidance for the first quarter of 2008. eRT anticipates net revenues of between $31.0 million and $33.0 million and net income per diluted share of $0.08 to $0.10 for the first quarter ending March 31, 2008. For the full year ending December 31, 2008, management anticipates net revenues of between $130 million and $137 million. Management anticipates earnings per diluted share of between $0.42 and $0.46 for the full year ending December 31, 2008. This guidance includes the costs associated with the closing of the Reno facility and other integration costs of CCSS. Costs associated with this will be more heavily skewed to the first three quarters of the year. Revenue and gross margin for the first three quarters will also include a higher percentage of lower margin backlog revenue then in the later part of the year.

Conference Call

Dr. McKelvey and Richard Baron, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will hold a conference call to discuss these results. The conference call will take place at 5:00 p.m. EST on February 26, 2008. For the conference call interested participants should dial 866-578-5771 when calling within the United States or 617-213-8055 when calling internationally along with the pass code 91743845. There will be a playback available through 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on March 4, 2008. To listen to the playback, please call 800-286-8010 when calling within the United States or 617-801-6888 when calling internationally. Please use pass code 46120621 for the replay.

This call is being webcast by Thomson Financial and can be accessed at eRT’s web site at http://www.eRT.com. The webcast may also be accessed at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/playerlink.zhtml?c=119164&s=wm&e=1764127. The webcast can be accessed until February 26, 2009 on either site.

About eResearchTechnology, Inc.

Based in Philadelphia, PA, eResearchTechnology, Inc. (http://www.eRT.com) is a provider of technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries on a global basis. The Company is a market leader in providing centralized core-diagnostic electrocardiographic (ECG) technology and services to evaluate cardiac safety in clinical development. The Company is also a leader in providing technology and services to streamline the clinical trials process by enabling its customers to automate the collection, analysis, and distribution of clinical data in all phases of clinical development.

Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including, but not limited to, 2008 financial guidance, involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as the Company’s ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to uncertain regulatory guidance, variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues at the sponsoring client, integration of acquisitions, competitive factors, technological development, and market demand. As a result, actual results may differ materially from any financial outlooks stated herein. Further information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results can be found in the Company’s Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.


Contact:
Richard Baron		Robert East
eResearchTechnology, Inc.		Westwicke Partners, LLC
215-282-5566		410-321-9652

eResearchTechnology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share amounts)


	Three Months Ended December 31,				The Year Ended December 31,
	2006		2007		2006		2007
	(unaudited)		(unaudited)				(unaudited)
Net revenues:
Licenses	$	681	$	687	$	3,017	$	2,700
Services		13,269		21,565		55,309		69,547
Site support		5,975		6,657		28,042		26,451


Total net revenues		19,925		28,909		86,368		98,698


Costs of revenues:
Cost of licenses		58		105		286		304
Cost of services		6,301		8,932		25,431		30,522
Cost of site support		4,329		4,665		18,821		17,808


Total costs of revenues		10,688		13,702		44,538		48,634


Gross margin		9,237		15,207		41,830		50,064


Operating expenses:
Selling and marketing		2,364		3,143		11,051		11,222
General and administrative		2,910		3,343		14,668		12,258
Research and development		818		1,178		4,146		4,333


Total operating expenses		6,092		7,664		29,865		27,813


Operating income		3,145		7,543		11,965		22,251
Other income, net		183		503		1,250		2,206


Income before income taxes		3,328		8,046		13,215		24,457
Income tax provision		1,084		2,887		4,905		9,205


Net income	$	2,244	$	5,159	$	8,310	$	15,252


Basic net income per share	$	0.04	$	0.10	$	0.17	$	0.30


Diluted net income per share	$	0.04	$	0.10	$	0.16	$	0.29


Shares used to calculate basic net income per share		49,988		50,618		49,474		50,476


Shares used to calculate diluted net income per share		51,364		51,929		51,485		51,743

eResearchTechnology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)


	December 31, 2006			December 31, 2007
				(unaudited)
ASSETS

Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	15,497		$	38,082
Short-term investments		41,416			8,797
Accounts receivable, net		17,866			26,718
Prepaid income taxes		2,819			743
Prepaid expenses and other		2,761			3,087
Deferred income taxes		912			901

Total current assets		81,271			78,328

Property and equipment, net		31,129			33,347
Goodwill		1,212			30,908
Long-term investments		928			—
Intangible assts		—			3,849
Deferred income taxes		—			1,011
Other assets		524			253


Total assets	$	115,064		$	147,696


LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	4,360		$	3,505
Accrued expenses		3,445			12,103
Income taxes payable		781			2,352
Current portion of capital lease obligations		40			1,097
Deferred revenues		11,325			13,905

Total current liabilities		19,951			32,962

Capital lease obligations, excluding current portion		—			48
Deferred income taxes		1,491			—
Other liabilities		—			1,174


Total liabilities		21,442			34,184


Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock-$10.00 par value, 500,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding		—			—
Common stock-$.01 par value, 175,000,000 shares authorized, 58,356,546 and 58,870,291 shares issued, respectively		584			589
Additional paid-in capital		83,493			87,957
Accumulated other comprehensive income		1,510			1,679
Retained earnings		70,225			85,477
Treasury stock, 8,247,119 shares at cost		(62,190	)		(62,190	)


Total stockholders’ equity		93,622			113,512


Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	115,064		$	147,696

eResearchTechnology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)


	Year Ended December 31,
	2006			2007
				(unaudited)
Operating activities:
Net income	$	8,310		$	15,252
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		11,253			15,129
Cost of sales of equipment		3,722			1,143
Provision for uncollectible accounts		111			30
Share-based compensation		2,975			2,004
Investment impairment charge		226			—
Changes in operating assets and liabilities exclusive of CCSS acqusition:
Accounts receivable		(2,567	)		(4,192	)
Prepaid expenses and other		132			352
Accounts payable		950			(2,147	)
Accrued expenses		(1,779	)		2,806
Income taxes		(2,104	)		3,137
Deferred revenues		(4,897	)		2,487

Net cash provided by operating activities		16,332			36,001


Investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment		(15,181	)		(11,073	)
Purchases of investments		(46,425	)		(58,008	)
Proceeds from sales of investments		40,658			91,555
Payments for acquisition		—			(35,800	)

Net cash used in investing activities		(20,948	)		(13,326	)


Financing activities:
Repayment of capital lease obligations		(153	)		(2,504	)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options		3,851			1,655
Stock option income tax benefit		3,400			760
Repurchase of common stock for treasury		(5,803	)		—

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		1,295			(89	)


Effect of exchange rate changes on cash		386			(1	)


Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents		(2,935	)		22,585
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		18,432			15,497


Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	15,497		$	38,082