vivoPharm opening for business in the U.S

Adelaide-based contract research organisation vivoPharm has received $US1.3 million to help fund building of the company’s first facility in the U.S.

Based at the Hershey Center for Applied Research (HCAR) in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the new facility, which includes laboratory and office space, will provide a range of research services to the U.S biotech and pharmaceutical industries. It is scheduled to commence operations in September next year.

The US$1.3 million comes from financial services company Wexford Equities, which developed the Hershey Center, and comprises both upfront cash and laboratory fit-out allowances.

“vivoPharm has identified key markets in the United States where demand for its preclinical - services targeting the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries is growing,” said Dr Fernando Felquer, vivoPharm’s vice president of business development.

“The new facility at the [HCAR] puts vivoPharm in an ideal position to provide dedicated state-of-the-art services to the biotech and pharma industry not only in the East Coast biotechnology corridor but also to the rest of the United States and Canada.”

He added that vivoPharm has experienced rapid growth in the last few years to become “a global, Australian company”. Two years ago, vivoPharm established its European operations in Stuttgart Germany.

vivoPharm currently provides the Australasian and European biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries with a number of integrated pre-clinical services including in vitro and vivo efficacy, safety, GLP (good laboratory practise) toxicology as well as ), pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic analyses.