Charles River Laboratories International, a CRO and CDMO, has agree to sell certain European Discovery Services assets as well as its CDMO and Cell Solutions businesses in separate transactions. 

In the first transaction, the company has agreed to divest its CDMO and Cell Solutions businesses to GI Partners, primarily for future, contingent performance-based payments. The CDMO business provides services related to the production of advanced therapies for gene-modified cell therapies, as well as gene therapies, including viral vectors and plasmid DNA. The Cell Solutions business provides human-derived cellular materials used in the development and production of cell therapies. 

The company will sell its CDMO sites in Tennessee, Maryland, and the UK and its Cell Solutions site in California. The businesses generated combined annual revenue of $143 million in 2025, including $117 million in the Manufacturing Solutions segment and $26 million in the Research Models and Services (RMS) segment. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. 

In the second transaction, Charles River has signed a definitive agreement to divest certain European assets within its Discovery Services business to IQVIA Holdings Inc. for approximately $145 million in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. In addition to the initial proceeds, the transaction includes potential additional payments to Charles River of up to $10 million. The company will sell certain discovery services capabilities totaling $144 million in 2025 annual revenue in the Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA) segment, and the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. 

The company also plans to divest five European sites that include certain discovery services capabilities in the following areas: (1) in vitro drug-discovery services that primarily include medicinal chemistry and structural biology services (Cambridge, UK site) and (2) certain pharmacology services, primarily in the areas of oncology, neuroscience, immunology, and advanced cell biology (sites in the following Freiburg, Germany; Kuopio, Finland; Portishead, UK; and Leiden, Netherlands). Charles River will retain other drug-discovery capabilities totaling approximately 40% of its Discovery Services revenue in 2025. 

Source: Charles River Laboratories