Quotient Bioresearch, a provider of drug development services, has acquired an Edinburgh-based clinical research facility from Charles River Laboratories, a global research model and preclinical, clinical and support service specialist. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Quotient Bioresearch, a provider of drug development services, has acquired an Edinburgh-based clinical research facility from Charles River Laboratories, a global research model and preclinical, clinical and support service specialist. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The Charles River facility, formerly Inveresk Clinical Research, will be combined with Pharmaceutical Profiles, which was acquired by Quotient in December 2008, to create Quotient Clinical.

The deal marks Quotient’s sixth acquisition in almost three years and will enable the company to expand its range of early development services to more pharmaceutical and biotech customers, specifically in the US, Europe and Japan.  

The new business unit will employ 160 medical, scientific and clinical staff based across the two sites in Edinburgh and Nottingham.

Paul Cowan, chairman and CEO of Quotient, said, “The creation of Quotient Clinical represents the next step in expanding the range of specialised services we offer pharmaceutical and biotech customers worldwide.”

Quotient Clinical will be headed by Mark Egerton, former CEO of Pharmaceutical Profiles. He added, “We will continue to build on the innovative approaches we developed at Pharmaceutical Profiles to increase the effectiveness of early development processes.”

The company has stated that more acquisitions could be on the way in line with its corporate objective of expanding its service offering.