Fios Genomics announces a strategic alliance with Charles River Laboratories
Charles River Laboratories and Fios Genomics have formed a strategic alliance to provide bioinformatics-driven drug discovery and safety assessment. Together, Charles River and Fios Genomics aim to accelerate pre-clinical discovery and development by turning complex data into actionable information.
The partnership will give clients of Charles River Laboratories access to the Edinburgh firm’s expertise in bioinformatics, statistics and biology.
It is described as a gamechanger for the Edinburgh University spin-out which currently works with more than 100 clients, principally in the US and Europe.
Fios was formed in 2008 and is located within Edinburgh’s BioQuarter. Charles River has also made a strategic investment in the firm, which plans to use it to accelerate increase its headcount from its current 30 to 50, with the recruitment of further bioinformaticians, project managers and other support staff.
Dr Sarah Lynagh, chief executive at Fios, said: “ This partnership takes Fios to the next level, opening up opportunities for the business right around the world. It is great news for Fios, for our expert team here in Edinburgh and for our very supportive investors.”
Birgit Girshick, Corporate Executive Vice President, Discovery & Safety Assessment, Biologics Testing Solutions, and Avian Vaccine Services at Charles River, said: “ The explosion in -omics data has been a boon for the drug discovery industry, but analysis and interpretation of these datasets are challenging. Through our partnership with Fios Genomics, Charles River clients will have greater access to the special combination of skills in bioinformatics, statistics and biology required to obtain meaningful information from their data.”
Fios’s investors include Edinburgh-based business angel investment syndicate, Archangels; Borders-based syndicate, TRICAPITAL; Scottish Investment Bank; and Edinburgh University.
