Crown Bioscience, Inc., a leading global drug discovery and development service company, today announces that it has acquired the shares of Preclinical Oncology Services Limited (PRECOS), a leading pre-clinical research and development service provider with a specific focus on oncology.

As a result of the acquisition Crown Bioscience becomes the world’s only contract research organization that offers such a comprehensive range of services. It will become the largest supplier of oncology services with a global footprint, spanning three major continents in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Crown Bioscience Inc. often referred to as CrownBio, leads the field in providing unique translational platforms and cost effective drug discovery solutions for its biotech and pharmaceutical partners in two dedicated therapeutic areas: Oncology and Metabolic Disease. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company also has research facilities in Kannapolis, North Carolina (USA), Beijing (China) and Taicang (near Shanghai, China.) PRECOS Ltd is a contract research organization focused on providing clinically relevant oncology models for drug discovery. PRECOS has a 15 year pedigree of delivering reproducible, patient-relevant in vivo and in vitro oncology models as a business unit of the University of Nottingham, UK. In 2010 PRECOS became fully independent to provide a solely commercial service to its clients.

Jean-Pierre Wery, President of Crown Bioscience comments, “The acquisition represents the next step in expanding the range of specialized services we offer pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers worldwide. PRECOS has unique clinically relevant models, which reflect the patient situation for each aspect of cancer progression, encompassing pre-cancerous lesions, primary tumours and metastasis.” Jean-Pierre Wery continues, “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of PRECOS, which offers Crown Bioscience an immediate footprint in Europe with a significantly sized organization to support engagement with European and global clients, as well as develop cutting-edge models and services for Crown Bioscience’s existing client base.”

Neil Rotherham, Chairman of PRECOS Ltd said today, “The acquisition of PRECOS by Crown Bioscience will enable PRECOS to continue expanding its business as part of a larger organization, giving Crown Bioscience clients access to PRECOS’s unique and growing panel of Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX), orthotopic and metastatic modelling and imaging services. Our innovative models and expertise provide a perfect complement to Crown Bioscience’s robust panel of models and services, and our geographical location provides a European hub for Crown Bioscience’s rapidly expanding client base in Europe. The security of being part of a larger, global and rapidly growing organization like Crown Bioscience will enable us to continue to invest in providing leading-edge model development services to the wider oncology drug discovery community.”

Both companies have a highly respected reputation and will continue to honor their on-going commitment to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across the globe, with all current service agreements and client projects continuing as usual. With an established track record in providing expert support to direct cancer drug development projects from concept to clinic, the acquisition of PRECOS bolsters Crown Bioscience’s services globally. The larger organization will now be able to offer a unique range of quality models, imaging capabilities and scientific expertise to clients working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

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