Boston, MA, January 24, 2002 - PAREXEL International Corporation (Nasdaq: PRXL) today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2001.

For the three months ended December 31, 2001, PAREXEL's consolidated net revenue grew 13% to a record high $106.9 million compared with consolidated net revenue of $94.3 million in the prior year quarter. Operating income was $4.2 million, or 3.9% of revenue, versus operating income of $0.2 million (0.2%) in the December quarter of the prior year. Operating income improved sequentially by 140 basis points. Net income for the quarter was $3.1 million or $0.12 per diluted share, compared with net income of approximately $1.0 million, or $0.04 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2000. Excluding the negative impact from the Perceptive Informatics business unit, earnings per diluted share would have been $0.14 in the quarter.

Net revenue for the second quarter was $63.4 million in Clinical Research Services, $23.7 million in the PAREXEL Consulting Group, $14.9 million in Medical Marketing Services, and $4.9 million in Perceptive Informatics, Inc.

For the six months ended December 31, 2001, consolidated net revenue was $208.7 million versus consolidated net revenue of $182.5 million in the prior year period, an increase of 14%. Operating income for the current six-month period was $6.7 million compared with a pro forma operating loss of $0.9 million in the prior year period. Net income for the six months was $5.5 million or $0.22 per diluted share, compared with net income of $0.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share in the prior year period. Excluding the negative impact from Perceptive Informatics, earnings per diluted share would have been $0.26 in the six-month period ending December 31, 2001.

For the six-month period from July to December 2001, PAREXEL reported net new business (gross new business less cancellations) of $251 million. Backlog at December 31, 2001 was $547 million, an increase of approximately 24% over the backlog reported for the period ending December 31, 2000.

Mr. Josef H. von Rickenbach, PAREXEL's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, "This quarter's record-breaking revenue, and solid advances in operating margin and backlog, are proof that our strategic initiatives are bearing fruit. These positive results, combined with a reinvigorated management team, give us the confidence to reconfirm the Fiscal year 2002 forward-looking guidance, and to project that EPS for calendar 2002 will be approximately 50% higher than calendar 2001."

The Company issued the following forward-looking guidance regarding revenue and earnings per share estimates for the third quarter of Fiscal 2002 (ending March 31, 2002), and for Fiscal and calendar 2002. For the third quarter of Fiscal 2002, the Company anticipates reporting net revenue in the range of $110 to $114 million and earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.12 to $0.14. For Fiscal 2002 (ending June 30, 2002), the Company increased the lower-end of its previously issued net revenue estimate range by $10 million to $435 million. For this same period, the Company maintained its previous upper-end revenue estimate of $440 million and its earnings per diluted share estimate range of $0.50 to $0.54. For calendar 2002, the Company anticipates reporting net revenue of between $465 and $480 million, and earnings per diluted share of between $0.61 and $0.65.

PAREXEL's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call will begin at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday, January 24th and will be broadcast live over the internet via webcast. The webcast may be accessed in the "Webcasts" portion of the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://www.parexel.com . A replay of this webcast will be archived on the website approximately two hours after the call and will continue to be accessible for one month following the live event.

PAREXEL is one of the largest contract pharmaceutical outsourcing organizations in the world, providing a broad range of knowledge-based contract research, medical marketing and consulting services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. With a commitment to providing solutions that expedite time-to-market and peak market penetration, PAREXEL has developed significant expertise in clinical trials management, data management, biostatistical analysis, medical marketing, clinical pharmacology, regulatory and medical consulting, industry training and publishing and other drug development consulting services. Its information technology subsidiary, Perceptive Informatics, Inc., provides a variety of technology products and services, including web-based portal solutions and voice and data systems, which are designed to accelerate and enhance the clinical development and launch processes. The Company's integrated services, therapeutic area depth and sophisticated information technology, along with its experience in global drug development and product launch services, represent key competitive strengths. Headquartered near Boston, MA, PAREXEL operates in 55 locations throughout 36 countries around the world, and has approximately 4,660 employees.

This release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding future results and events, including statements regarding expected financial results, future growth and customer demand that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "appears", "estimates", "projects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The Company's actual future results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Important factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, risks associated with: actual operating performance; actual expense savings and other operating improvements resulting from recent restructurings; the cancellation, revision, or delay of contracts, including those contracts in backlog; the Company's dependence on certain industries and clients; the Company's ability to win new business, manage growth, and attract and retain employees; the Company's ability to complete additional acquisitions and to integrate newly acquired businesses or enter into new lines of business; government regulation of certain industries and clients; competition and consolidation within the pharmaceutical industry; the potential for significant liability to clients and third parties; the potential adverse impact of health care reform; and the effects of exchange rate fluctuations. Such factors and others are discussed more fully in the section entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2001, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which "Risk Factors" discussion is incorporated by reference in this press release. The Company disclaims any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.