Charles River Announces Inaugural Advanced Therapy Incubator Program Cohort

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) today announced the initial cohort of its Charles River Incubator Program (CIP). Launched in December 2024, the program offers early-stage biotechnology pioneers access to extensive scientific and commercial expertise and a wide ecosystem of discovery, development, and manufacturing capabilities to expedite the development of technologies and life-changing therapies for patients in need.

The first cohort includes six advanced therapy and technology developers: 64x Bio, Adjuva Bio, Purilogics by Donaldson, Gordian Bio, NanoPalm, and NVI Therapeutics. Participants will benefit from tailored mentorship, consultative regulatory and quality expertise, fit-for-purpose training initiatives, and preferential access to Charles River’s global network of facilities.

“We were incredibly impressed with the caliber of applicants for the CIP and are proud of the group chosen to participate in this first round,” said Kerstin Dolph, Corporate Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing, Charles River. “The goal of the CIP is to form a strong foundation for commercial viability as our participants support the development of life-saving therapeutics.”

Incubating Promising Drug Developers

CIP aims to support early-stage biotechnology companies in the discovery, development, and phase-appropriate manufacturing of advanced therapies.

• Adjuva Bio: Adjuva Bio is developing precision-engineered cell therapies for chronic inflammatory diseases. Adjuva Bio’s LogiCAR platform aims to enable programmable cell therapies designed to treat conditions with high unmet need and limited treatment options such as endometriosis and fibrosis.
  
  
  
  “At Adjuva Bio, we’re expanding the reach of cell therapy to tackle chronic diseases that have been ignored for too long,” said Bishwas Shrestha, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Adjuva Bio.
  
  

• Gordian Bio: Developing novel therapeutics for chronic conditions leveraging an innovative screening platform that measures in vivo efficacy and safety of thousands of novel gene targets simultaneously, in individual animal models of disease.
  
  
  
  “Our in vivo screening technology has rapidly identified multiple development candidates in osteoarthritis and heart failure, and is powering partnerships across obesity, lung fibrosis, and cirrhosis,” said Dr. Francisco LePort, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Gordian Bio. “We are excited to join CIP as these programs advance toward the clinic.”
  
  

• NanoPalm: Developing in vivo therapies for genetic diseases with an advanced lipid nanoparticle (LNP) manufacturing process designed by NanoPalm’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
  
  
  
  “Being selected for the Charles River Incubator Program marks a significant milestone for NanoPalm as we continue our mission to develop next-generation, accessible gene therapies,” said Dr. Ali Alhasan, Founder and CEO of NanoPalm. “This collaboration will accelerate our ability to translate groundbreaking research into real-world clinical solutions and reflects how Saudi Arabia is transforming the biotech ecosystem to align with Vision 2030.”
  
  

• NVI Therapeutics: Empowering cell and gene therapy with non-viral gene insertion technology.
  
  
  
  “By joining the CIP, NVI Therapeutics aims to accelerate the development of our non-viral gene insertion platform through strategic business development support and expert mentorship,” said Chih-Wen Ni, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, NVI Therapeutics, Inc. “Access to Charles River’s extensive network will be invaluable and collaboration with their world-class team will streamline our preclinical studies and help fast-track our path to the clinic.”

Shortlisted ahead of the Company’s Cell & Gene Therapy Summit in San Francisco on March 4, 2025, the founders of Adjuva Bio and NVI Therapeutics presented their companies to potential investors in the investment track. Additionally, as part of a commitment to developing a robust biotechnology ecosystem in the Middle East, Charles River previously announced a partnership with Lafana Holding, a leading Saudi investment firm. Lafana joined forces with Charles River to shortlist and select NanoPalm for inclusion in the first CIP cohort, helping to grow the life sciences industry in Saudi Arabia.

Enabling Advanced Therapy Technologies

Also supporting Charles River’s mission to create healthier lives, technology companies Purilogics by Donaldson and 64x Bio are confirmed CIP participants.

• 64x Bio: An end-to-end platform to accelerate the design and manufacture of next generation biologics including AAV, through the development of novel cell lines and production technologies.
  
  
  
  “64x is committed to advancing gene therapies by driving down manufacturing costs that further enable unlocking of new indications,” said Alexis Rovner, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at 64x Bio. “We’re also working with partners early to ensure they’re starting with the right cell line from day one.”
  
  

• Purilogics by Donaldson: Leveraging Donaldson’s long track record of innovative filtration solutions, it has recently expanded into the life sciences sector with multiple bioprocessing acquisitions including its Purilogics platform. Purilogics’ Purexa membrane chromatography products aim to enhance efficiency, speed and cost of biologics purification across a variety of applications including pDNA, mRNA, mAbs and other advanced modalities.
  
  
  
  “We are excited to participate in CRL’s incubator program to test the limits of our membrane chromatography products in a real world setting and demonstrate the full value we can bring to the biomanufacturing process” said Cory Padesky, General Manager of Purilogics by Donaldson.

“In a time where investment in early development is limited, incubator programs like CIP can play a crucial role in supporting early-stage companies as they refine their programs and products,” added Kristen Eisenhauer, Corporate Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Charles River. “The CIP offers access to a concept-to-cure portfolio of capabilities, unique to Charles River, and backed by a team of former regulatory advisors and industry-leading scientists, with a proven track record of success.”

In recent years, Charles River has significantly broadened its cell and gene therapy portfolio with several acquisition integrations and expansions to simplify complex supply chains and meet growing demand for plasmid DNA, viral vector, and cell therapy services. Combined with the Company’s legacy discovery, safety assessment, and biologics testing capabilities, Charles River offers an industry-leading “concept to cure” advanced therapies solution.

Bringing together subject matter experts, executives, and thought leaders in the CGT space to discuss and navigate critical challenges, register for the European Cell & Gene Therapy Summit 2025 in London on September 16: https://bit.ly/4l0wvfl.

About Charles River

Charles River provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading academic institutions around the globe accelerate their research and drug development efforts. Our dedicated employees are focused on providing clients with exactly what they need to improve and expedite the discovery, early-stage development and safe manufacture of new therapies for the patients who need them. To learn more about our unique portfolio and breadth of services, visit www.criver.com.

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The goal of the Charles River Incubator Program is to form a strong foundation for commercial viability as our participants support the development of life-saving therapeutics.