CiToxLAB Beats Preclinical Market Trends
The CRO (Contract Research Organisation) said its consolidated sales reached €78m ($102m), up 25% compared to 2011 which is over three times higher than the general trend in the outsourced preclinical market, according to a 2012 CRO Industry Update Report by equity firm William Blair.
Dr Jean-Francois Le Bigot, chairman and CEO of CiToxLAB told Outsourcing-Pharma.com the figures illustrate CiToxLAB has “gained market share in Europe and North America.”
The year-end figures are the first combined results following the merger of French company CIT with Canadian firm Lab Research and are in line with expectations made by Le Bigot at the time.
Though the company’s sites in France, Hungary and Denmark all fared well, it was the Montreal, Canada site which showed the greatest rise, up 68% on fiscal 2011.
Before the acquisition, Lab Research had seen financial problems due to a series of study delays and an overall reluctance for clients to push ahead with projects. On the back of the released figures, it appears that the forming of CiToxLAB has turned the site around.
Le Bigot said that the company had seen revenue gains across all industry segments: “Big and medium pharma, biotech companies, chemical and agro industries.”
He continued, adding: “We can now benefit from a direct access to the North American market which has allowed us to strengthen and build relationships with new and important clients.”
Animal Testing
A slight move away from animal testing to cell testing has been hinted at, especially in skin and eye irritation as well as sensitization assessment.
Plans to “invest to develop in vitro models, in particular, but not only for screening,” were outlined by Le Bigot who added that “in vitro studies are not only possible but are encouraged and are now recognized as validated.”
However, testing on non-human primates (NHPs) is a continuous investment as CiToxLAB predict an increase in demand for prophylactic or therapeutic vaccines, antibodies and other types of large molecules.
“The company has provided safety testing in NHPs for several decades and more recently has validated models for the assessment of reproductive toxicity in NHPs,” said Le Bigot.
CiToxLAB is also undergoing preclinical tests with rabbits specifically designed for the evaluation of new vaccines from its French site and its Danish site uses minipigs in the field of toxicity, reproductive toxicity and juvenile studies.
