IQVIA Acquires Charles River Discovery Services Assets, Expanding In Vitro and AI Drug Discovery Capabilities

IQVIA has entered into an agreement to acquire selected drug discovery assets from Charles River Laboratories for approximately $145 million in cash, with up to $10 million in potential additional payments, including five in vitro research sites and a small molecule AI platform.

The assets, supported by more than two decades of curated scientific data, have contributed to over 100 molecules entering clinical trials and several approved drugs. 

Charles River’s small molecule AI capabilities were previously demonstrated through Logica, its partnership with Valo Health, which integrated machine learning into hit discovery and lead optimization workflows. The platform applied predictive models across Design–Make–Test–Analyze cycles, including ADME and potency modeling, and delivered a first lead candidate in collaboration with Flagship Pioneering’s Pioneering Medicines, providing early proof of concept for the approach.

Charles River Laboratories (NYSE: CRL) is a U.S.-based contract research organization founded in 1947 and headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. It provides preclinical and clinical research services, including safety assessment and laboratory testing, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide, and operates in more than 20 countries.

The acquisition covers laboratory-based New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and computational tools designed to support small molecule discovery while addressing growing demand for non-animal research approaches. 

See also: From Animals to Algorithms: How AI Brings Drug Testing Closer to Human Biology

The five sites are the following: 

• Cambridge, UK, focused on in vitro drug discovery such as medicinal chemistry and structural biology
• Facilities in Freiburg, Germany; Kuopio, Finland; Portishead, UK; and Leiden, Netherlands, all providing pharmacology services in oncology, neuroscience, immunology, and advanced cell biology. 

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, and Charles River will retain the remaining drug discovery operations.

According to the companies, the combined infrastructure is backed by more than 20 years of scientific and operational datasets, along with therapeutic expertise across multiple disease areas. The expanded platform is expected to support a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, neurology, immunology, metabolism, and rare diseases, and to accommodate multiple drug modalities in early research phases.

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV), headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, provides clinical research services, analytics, and technology solutions to life sciences companies across more than 100 countries. IQVIA stated that the addition of these assets will extend its laboratory capabilities across target identification, hit-to-lead, lead optimization, and early safety assessment.

Topic: Biotech Ventures