Doorway to discovery in China
China CRO acquisitions move both Charles River and PPD upstream into discovery
As big pharma looks to slim down, they have been outsourcing increasing amounts of discovery work. In response, two of the largest CROs, Charles River Laboratories International Inc. and PPD Inc., have acquired Chinese discovery services companies. Both acquirers hope to benefit by bringing in clients earlier and maintaining them through the later-stage services the CROs already offer.
"There has been a real shift in the paradigm over the last few years where big pharma, which used to want to control every piece of the work that was done in both the discovery and development of molecules, is increasingly looking for what parts they can outsource, where they can still have the intellectual control," said Nancy Gillett, Charles River EVP and president of global preclinical services...