Charles River Laboratories International has opened a 60,000 square foot preclinical facility in Shanghai to support its clients’ global drug development needs.
With its large population and increasingly educated workforce, China is an emerging market for global drug development. As China continues to evolve as a center of innovation in research and development, the new facility will help foster this culture by helping multinationals as well as local biopharmaceutical organizations accelerate their drug development programs. The new facility is expected to provide Good Laboratory Practice services in the first quarter of 2009.
In addition, Charles River’s China facility will provide a wide range of services that are compliant with leading regulatory agencies including: the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care,the Canadian Council on Animal Care,China’s State Food and Drug Administration, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In March 2007, Charles River announced a joint venture with Shanghai BioExplorer, a Shanghai, China-based provider of preclinical services, to form Charles River Preclinical Services Greater China. The joint venture is majority owned and controlled by Charles River.