Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) and Autobahn Labs, a Samsara BioCapital-backed virtual accelerator for academic biotech, today announced a collaborative relationship that establishes Charles River as the preferred research partner to support Autobahn’s growing pipeline of early-stage, preclinical therapeutics’ programs. This agreement will grant Autobahn preferred access to Charles River’s industry-standard, state-of-the-art drug discovery and development capabilities. The purpose of the partnership is to accelerate the advancement of novel academic science into transformational new therapies across diverse therapeutic modalities and disease areas.

Under the terms of the agreement, Charles River has made an investment in Autobahn Labs, joining a fundraising round led by Autobahn’s founding investor, Samsara BioCapital. Proceeds from the raise and partnership with Charles River will enable Autobahn to expand the number of partnerships with top-tier academic institutions, advance lead preclinical programs, and identify new opportunities for therapeutics development. In conjunction with the funding, Justin Bryans, Chief Scientific Officer, Discovery for Charles River, has joined Autobahn’s Board of Directors.

“I am looking forward to partnering with the Autobahn Labs team as they develop preclinical therapeutics programs,” said Justin Bryans, Chief Scientific Officer, Discovery, Charles River. “We expect our combined expertise will help progress drug discovery and development programs, ultimately delivering critical therapeutics to patients.”

“We are excited for Charles River to join Samsara BioCapital as an investor and partner in Autobahn’s mission to translate the best of academic biotech,” said Brendan O’Leary, CEO of Autobahn Labs. “Combining Charles River’s industry-leading drug discovery and development capabilities with Autobahn’s deal sourcing and venture creation expertise will allow us to efficiently de-risk academic research with significant therapeutic potential, from novel concept to preclinical drug candidate.”