Quintiles Agrees to Acquire Premier GLP Bioanalytics Laboratory, Creating Full-Spectrum Lab Solution for Drug Development

To provide a more comprehensive and efficient global solution for its laboratory customers, Quintiles announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Advion BioServices, a US-based bioanalytical laboratory providing Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) testing and other services.

Under the agreement, Quintiles will acquire Advion BioServices for an undisclosed amount of cash. Completion of the transaction, which is subject to usual and customary conditions, is expected this quarter. At that time it will join Quintiles as Advion Bioanalytical Labs, a Quintiles company.

“Adding a premier bioanalytical offering to our existing CAP-accredited central labs network creates a one-source solution for lab testing across the development spectrum,” said Thomas Wollman, Senior Vice President, Quintiles Global Laboratories. “We now can offer customers PK/PD testing, molecular screening, drug discovery and metabolism, biomarker discovery, and immunoassay services to inform decision-making early on, helping reduce the risk of failure in expensive later-stage trials.”

Because of high costs of failure in later phase trials, the industry has shifted toward more thorough lab testing in earlier phases (pre-clinical, Phases I-II). With Advion’s capabilities, Quintiles can now give customers insights early in development.

Advion BioServices has more than 180 employees in three U.S. locations: a 33,000-square-foot GLP bioanalytical laboratory in Ithaca, N.Y. (about 130 employees); a 10,000-square-foot GLP immunoassay laboratory in Manassas, Va. (about 12 employees); and a 22,000-square-foot discovery and metabolism lab in Indianapolis (about 40 employees). Advion co-founders Jack Henion, Ph.D., and Tom Kurz, as well as other key members of the management team including Tim McGrath and Stephen Lowes, Ph.D., will remain involved with Advion Bioanalytical Labs within Quintiles.