Eurofins to offer biopharma testing in Japan with Astellas lab deal
Contract research organisation (CRO) Eurofins has signed an outsourcing agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas for one of its testing laboratories in Kyoto.
Astellas’ Analytical Science Laboratories (ASL) offers testing services for raw materials and drug substances, as well as quality evaluation, test method validation, and physicochemical testing.
The laboratory also tests cell based assay for antibodies, offering Eurofins entry into the biopharmaceutical products testing market in Japan.
According to the agreement, Astellas will provide ASL work for “an agreed period of time” while Eurofins invests in capabilities and adds staff to the current 140-member workforce.
Eurofins is committed to serving Astellas and its “expanding group of clients in the APAC region,” CEO Gilles Martin said in a statement.
The CRO declined a request for additional comment.
The Astellas deal marks Luxembourg-headquartered Eurofins’ latest expansion into the global market. In 2016, the CRO acquired US analytical services firm Advantar Laboratories, Australian QC company ams, and Dutch QC services firm Sinensis Life Science.
Last year, the firm bought Canadian drug ingredient manufacturer and testing contractor Alphora Research and India-based preclinical CRO Advinus Therapeutics. And in January this year, Eurofins announced plans to buy UK CRO Selcia.
