Jackson Lab buys Japan-based research animal business for $63M

Courtesy / Jackson Laboratories The Jackson Laboratory, based in Bar Harbor, breeds research mice at an Ellsworth facility for laboratories worldwide.

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By Jessica Hall

The Jackson Laboratory, the nonprofit biomedical research institution based in Bar Harbor, has acquired a Japan-based research subsidiary of Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) for $63 million in cash.

The deal, announced late Tuesday in a pair of news releases, is for Charles River's Research Models and Services business, which last year had revenues of $46 million and provides animal models for drug discovery work in the Japan market. The operations there include 250 employees and production sites in Atsugi, Hino, Tsukuba, as well as an administrative office in Yokohama. The new subsidiary will be called the Jackson Laboratory Japan.

“This acquisition advances our mission to empower biomedical research worldwide and to play an even more direct role in Japan, as well as Korea and Taiwan, while advancing our international growth strategy,” said Auro Nair, executive vice president of the Jackson Lab and president of the JAX Mice, Clinical and Research Services business.

The Jackson Lab produces specialized mice for medical research and ships 3.4 million animals to 20,000 research laboratories worldwide. Charles River, based in Wilmington, Mass., is a global supplier for pharmaceutical and biotechnology labs. The two organizations have long held a distribution agreement for the production and sale of JAX’s research models in Japan.

‘For over 20 years, we have built a strong partnership with the Jackson Laboratory providing research animal models. We are very pleased to be able to take this new strategic step forward and further contribute to the development of drug discovery and bioscience research in Japan,” said the Research Models and Services president, Yukihiro Takemonto.

Takemonto will retain his current roles as part of the JAX subsidiary.

The Jackson Lab currently has more than 2,400 employees and has operations in Ellsworth; Augusta; Farmington, Conn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Shanghai, China. The lab also operates a joint venture in Beijing.