RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — IQVIA said it has signed an agreement to acquire select drug discovery services assets from Charles River Laboratories, a move aimed at expanding its end-to-end drug discovery capabilities and strengthening support for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients earlier in the research and development cycle.
The assets include five sites specializing in in vitro drug discovery services, including laboratory-based New Approach Methodologies and a small-molecule artificial intelligence platform designed to accelerate discovery programs and support growing demand for non-animal research methods. IQVIA said the operations are supported by more than 20 years of curated scientific and operational data and broad therapeutic expertise.
According to the company, the acquired assets have contributed to more than 100 molecules advancing into clinical trials and include programs that have resulted in several commercially approved drugs.
IQVIA said the acquisition will complement its existing IQVIA Laboratories discovery capabilities, creating a more fully integrated platform spanning target identification, hit-to-lead development, lead optimization, and early safety assessment. The expanded offering is expected to support a wider range of drug modalities and therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, immunology, metabolism, and rare diseases.
The company said pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors will benefit from the integration of scientific, regulatory, and clinical expertise across the full development continuum, from early discovery through clinical development.
“This acquisition will meaningfully strengthen our ability to support clients earlier in the R&D lifecycle and complements our existing translational and clinical development capabilities,” said David Morris, president of IQVIA Laboratories. “Integrating these assets with our existing capabilities creates an industry-leading drug discovery platform with a track record of advancing discovery programs into clinical development.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.
