Profile: Bioanalytical Systems Inc (BASI.O)

Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. is a contract research company providing drug discovery and development services. The Company’s clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and Government organizations. It derives its revenues from sales of its research services and drug development tools. The Company has been involved in the research of drugs to treat a number of therapeutic areas. It supports the preclinical and clinical development needs of researchers and clinicians for small molecule and large biomolecule drug candidates. Its principal clients are scientists engaged in analytical chemistry, drug safety evaluation, clinical trials, drug metabolism studies, pharmacokinetics and basic research, including biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical companies. It operates in two business segments: contract research services and research products, both of which address the bioanalytical, preclinical, and clinical research needs of drug developers.

Contract Research Services

The Company’s contract research services segment provides screening and pharmacological testing, preclinical safety testing, formulation development, regulatory compliance and quality control testing. The services provided by the Company’s contract research services segment include Product Characterization, Method Development and Validation, which includes analytical methods, primarily performed in West Lafayette, Indiana, determine potency, purity, chemical composition, structure and physical properties of a compound; Bioanalytical Testing, where it analyzes specimens from preclinical and clinical trials to measure drug and metabolite concentrations in biological matrices; Stability Testing, where the Company tests stability of drug substances and formulated drug products and maintain storage facilities in West Lafayette, Indiana; In Vivo Pharmacology, which includes providing preclinical in vivo sampling services for the continuous monitoring of chemical changes in life, in particular, how a drug enters, travels through, and is metabolized in living systems, and Preclinical and Pathology Services, where the Company provides pharmacokinetic and safety testing in studies ranging from acute safety monitoring of drugs and medical devices to chronic, multi-year oncogenicity studies in its Evansville, Indiana site. Bioanalysis is performed at its facilities in Indiana, Oregon and the United Kingdom.

Research Products

The products business targets life science research. The Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets in vivo sampling systems and accessories (including disposables, training and systems qualification); physiology monitoring tools, and liquid chromatography and electrochemistry instruments platforms. It offers three principal product lines: Analytical Products, In vivo Sampling Products and Vetronics’ Products. The analytical products consist of its liquid chromatographic and electrochemical instruments with associated accessories. The in vivo sampling products consist of the Culex family of automated in vivo sampling and dosing instruments. These are used by pharmaceutical researchers to dose animals and collect biological samples (blood, bile, urine, microdialysate, feces or any bio-fluid) from the animals. The line also includes miniaturized in vivo sampling devices sold to drug developers and medical research centers to assist in the study of a number of medical conditions including stroke, depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, diabetes and osteoporosis. The Vetronics’ products consist of instruments and related software to monitor and diagnose cardiac function (electro-cardiogram) and measure other vital physiological parameters primarily in cats and dogs in veterinary clinics.

The Company competes with Covance, Inc., Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc., Charles River Laboratories, Inc., Parexel and MDS Health Group Ltd.