North Carolina, US-based LabCorp, a drug development services provider, announced that its subsidiary, Covance, began operations at its newly-established R&D facility in Shanghai, China.
Located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park of Shanghai's Pudong District, the 12,000 square meter site is the company’s largest facility in the Asia Pacific region.
The opening of the facility will see Covance doubling its capacity for bioanalytical and central laboratory services for the development and commercialization of its clients’ drug products, with an increase from approximately 6,000 square meters to approximately 12,000.
According to the company, its operations for early clinical stage services, including safety assessment, metabolism, and lead optimization, will remain at Covance’s facility on Kangxin Road in the Shanghai International Medical Zone, which is in ‘close proximity’ to the newly-established R&D center.
A spokesperson for Covance told us “There has been, and continues to be, a growing desire for comprehensive drug development solutions and early development capabilities in China as well as the Asia/Pacific region,” a spokesperson for Covance told us.
Covance’s CEO, John Ratliff, said that the company is “the only provider in China and globally to offer comprehensive R&D services from early development through commercial solutions.”
The site’s opening comes shortly after Covance launched a laboratory solution within its functional service provider (FSP) offering, aimed to deliver ‘clear data.’