The US contract research organisation (CRO) said that the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC), which monitors the use of animals in science, had commended its staff and management at the site.
During its construction the $175m (€118m) 288,000 sqft facility was the subject of a number of protests about the use of animals in drug research, most notably in 2006 by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Citizens Against Covance groups.
The site, which opened earlier this year, provides a range of contract preclinical, toxicology and bioanalytical development services and was described as being critical to the future success of Covance by CEO Joseph Herring.