Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. (BASI) has acquired the CRO business unit of Smithers Avanza Toxicology Services, located in Gaithersburg, MD, which specializes in general toxicology, vaccine safety and developmental and reproductive toxicology (DART) studies. The acquired business will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of BASi under the name BASi Gaithersburg.

The acquisition adds immediate capacity and broadens BASi’s drug safety and disposition evaluations with a portfolio of tools and services including: lead optimization through candidate selection; in vivo toxicology and pharmacology; vaccine safety testing; DART; GLP in vivo services; GLP and non-GLP/discovery bioanalysis; Histopathology including image analysis; Drug Metabolism & Pharmacokinetics; and bioequivalence testing.

“The acquisition of the Smithers Avanza Toxicology Services business unit solidly supports BASi’s vision of strategic growth,” said Robert Leasure, Jr., BASi’s president and chief executive officer. “With strong demand for our toxicology and drug disposition services, we needed to add space and talent. The team that is joining us from Smithers in Gaithersburg will allow us to provide more resources to our clients, while remaining small enough to be flexible, responsive and consultative. Not only will the Gaithersburg site provide increased capacity for routine safety assessment, we also acquired significant expertise in developmental and reproductive toxicology.”

Michael Hochschwender, president and chief executive officer, The Smithers Group, said, “Selling a business unit is never an easy decision, but we recognized that the scope and scale of BASi coupled with our team’s scientific expertise would benefit our clients and team tremendously. Operating as a single site toxicology business presented operational efficiency challenges that could be overcome with the added sites and in-house capabilities of BASi. We are very proud of the accomplishments and reputation of the Gaithersburg Toxicology Services team. We are thankful to our loyal clients who supported this business and are confident they will enjoy a seamless transition to BASi.”