Charles River acquires Retrogenix
Charles River (MA, USA) has strengthened its scientific expertise through the acquisition of Retrogenix (Chinley, UK), an early-stage CRO providing bioanalytical services including cell microarray technology. Retrogenix provides cell microarray services for a variety of novel therapeutics including cell therapies, small molecules and biologics. The cell microarray technology enables fast and accurate identification of specific cell surface and secreted protein interactions in human cells.
Retrogenix provides a unique screening tool for identifying primary target receptors, through the use of one of the largest protein libraries (with over 6,200 human plasma membrane and secreted protein clones). The acquisition of Retrogenix enhances the large molecule and cell therapy discovery capabilities of Charles River. It is hoped that the acquisition will further strengthen Charles River’s integration solutions for therapeutic antibody and cell and gene therapy discovery and development.
James Foster, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles River Laboratories, commented:
“The acquisition of Retrogenix strategically expands Charles River’s existing discovery capabilities by adding a proprietary cell microarray technology to accelerate target identification and provide preclinical safety assurance for novel therapies. In addition to enhancing our position as the premier, single-source provider for a broad portfolio of discovery services, Retrogenix enhances our ability to support clients’ early-stage drug research efforts in advanced drug modalities, including cell therapies. Retrogenix’s goal is to become the industry standard for receptor identification and off-target screening solutions for biotherapeutics and cell therapies, and we believe the combination with Charles River’s extensive early-stage expertise will enable them to achieve this goal. We are pleased to welcome Retrogenix and its talented staff to the Charles River family.”
