Early-phase contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Ardena, has acquired bioanalytical contract laboratory, Analytical Biochemical Laboratory (ABL).
The acquisition of Netherlands-based ABL follows the merging of Pharmavize and Crystallics to form Ardena and broadens the CDMO’s pre-clinical and clinical offering to include bioanalytical and drug discovery services.
With the addition of ABL, the Ardena Group now employs 125 scientists.
“Our focus is to help customers navigate the hurdles of drug development and in order to do this effectively, we need to deliver a broad and integrated service offering spanning drug discovery, pre-clinical, CMC and clinical services,” Harry Christiaens CEO of Ardena, said. “With ABL’s expertise, we can now support sponsors with bioanalytical and drug discovery services to help them reach important pre-clinical and clinical milestones. These specialist capabilities complement our existing services, which include solid-state chemistry, analytical and formulation development, and early-phase clinical supply manufacturing.”
The acquisition of ABL means Ardena now has three facilities in Europe, including Amsterdam (the former Crystallics facility) and Assen (the former ABL facility) in the Netherlands, as well as the company’s headquarters in Ghent, Belgium.
Founded in 1969, ABL specializes in the analysis of endogenous (biomarkers) and exogenous compounds in biological matrices derived from humans and animals. The company is active in all phases of drug development, including discovery, pre-clinical and clinical phases I – IV.