Cerba Healthcare to acquire Canadian contract research laboratory Cirion Biopharma Research to expand bioanalytical capabilities and shorten time-to-deploy complex clinical trials

Cerba HealthCare, a leading global player in medical diagnosis, today announced it has acquired CIRION BIOPHARMA RESEARCH INC (CIRION), a Canadian-controlled private company highly recognized for its integrated bioanalytical and global central laboratory services.

CIRION, a leading contract research organization has been operating global clinical trials over 30 years. Besides its bioanalytical capabilities highly specialized in Biosimilars/Biologics development including PKPD and Immunogenicity testing, it offers central lab full solutions with fast start-up capabilities for managing international multi-center clinical studies and supports specimen management for complex development projects. The company has a workforce of over 80 employees comprised of PhD holders, medical specialists and a network of renowned university researchers.

Cerba HealthCare appreciates CIRION’s reputation for its deep expertise with Large Molecules development and, high-quality services being fully GLP compliant, with an impressive client base including some of the world’s top 10 global pharmaceutical companies. Being CAP (College of American Pathologists) and CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) accredited assures that their lab is scientifically endorsed to regulatory standards in the North American market. 

CIRION offers a full range of services, from the development of specialized assays to laboratory testing required for clinical studies, allowing the company to meet the complex needs of their reputable clients. Furthermore, the company provides R&D services from preclinical drug discovery to phase IV clinical stage drug development.

Within Cerba HealthCare’s comprehensive Group offering, and ranking under the Cerba Research brand, clinical laboratory and diagnostic solutions for clinical and IVD trials have grown considerably over the past years, demonstrating a strong track record in patient recruitment and clinical trial sample testing, as well as in white-glove logistics solutions for immuno-oncology, anti-infectives, cell & gene therapies and metabolic disorders. Over the years, Cerba Research has evolved to become the precision medicine partner to CROs, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, and non-profit organizations with growing needs for global complex clinical research programs.

 “I see CIRION as a true strategic step in improving our offering both geographically and scientifically. It deepens our North American presence while featuring sound expertise in PKPD assay development and testing, which is instrumental knowledge for our customers as it relates drug concentration to drug effect. Their extensive knowledge and unrivalled reputation will naturally make CIRION the Cerba Research center of excellence in bioanalytics across the globe, helping us accelerate fulfill our clients’ needs in the development of personalized medicine. We are proud to welcome CIRION’s renowned high-quality scientists and very much looking forward to onboarding the team”.

Mario Papillon, Cerba Research CEO 

“We are very proud of what CIRION has accomplished over the past 30 years, and yet, it was time to find a new foundation to bring our scientific contribution to the next level. It is an honor to join the Cerba HealthCare galaxy though their world class clinical research provider: with Cerba Research, we found the perfect breeding ground where our combined expertise and capabilities will help our teams meet the ever-changing scientific, logistical and analytical challenges of clinical studies. This is truly galvanizing stage for our people to see their purpose pursued at a greater scale and we will remain closely associated to the business operations of this new entity. The CIRION scientists and experts are very excited to join Cerba Research in their continuous quest to provide the best possible solutions to serve and improve the clinical trials of our life science customers.”

Dr. Sylvain Desrochers and Dr. Lise Dallaire, founders of CIRION