Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. recently opened the first Charles River Accelerator and Development Lab (CRADL) location in Chicago, expanding contract vivarium space for the biopharmaceutical industry in Illinois.
 
CRADL Chicago is located in Fulton Labs, in Chicago’s Fulton Market, which is emerging as a hub of the local life sciences community. Fulton Labs also includes premier wet and dry lab and office space, offered by Portal Innovations. The on-demand facilities allow both emerging and established biopharma companies and research institutions to quickly start new projects to help accelerate the early stage of research. 
 
With the acquisition of Explora BioLabs in April 2022, the CRADL-Explora Vivarium Network was established as a partner for clients to launch or expand their drug research programs, with the added benefit of access to Charles River’s portfolio of integrated drug discovery and non-clinical development resources. The CRADL-Explora Vivarium Network operates 28 vivarium facilities, providing over 380,000 sq. ft. of rental capacity in key biohubs, including Massachusetts, California, Washington, Shanghai, London, and now Illinois. 
 
“Chicago is emerging as a key biohub in the United States, with a growing life sciences community. By providing contract vivarium services, we’re able to support clients in starting projects quickly, without the burden of building infrastructure, which can be costly and time consuming,” said Colin Dunn, Ph.D., Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Research Models & Services, Charles River.