We advised Charles River on the acquisition of a cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization

Davis Polk is advising Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. in connection with its $875 million acquisition of Cognate BioServices, Inc. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory requirements and customary closing conditions.

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. Cognate is a dynamic, results-driven organization focused on providing the broadest range of commercialization services to regenerative medicine, cellular immunotherapy and advanced cell therapy companies.

The Davis Polk corporate team includes partner Michael Davis and associates Matthew J. Cowcher and Mari Foster. The executive compensation team includes partner Kyoko Takahashi Lin and associate Tessa Patti. The tax team includes partner William A. Curran and associate Liang Zhang. Partner David R. Bauer and associate Hilary Smith are providing intellectual property advice. Associate Michael Comstock is providing environmental advice. All members of the Davis Polk team are based in the New York office.