Charles River Laboratories Ltd. Acquires Drug Research Company SAMDI Tech

SAMDI Tech Inc., a leading provider of high-quality, label-free high-throughput screening (HTS) solutions for drug discovery research, has been acquired by Charles River Laboratories International Inc. The two companies have had a partnership since 2018. 

The acquisition comes after more than a decade of growth facilitated by SAMDI Tech’s tenancy in Illinois Institute of Technology’s University Technology Park (UTP) incubator. 

SAMDI Tech was founded by Dr. Milan Mrksich, Dr. Carmichael Roberts, and Michael Scholle in 2011. It offers proprietary mass spectrometry technology on a fee-for-service basis. Today, the company leads the industry with an innovative approach to drug discovery.

The company started with a bootstrapped model by combining early adopters of the technology and a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation. Thanks, in part, to its partnership with UTP’s incubator, SAMDI Tech has been able to grow the business organically for 11 years without venture capital funding. 

“SAMDI Tech is a great success story and is emblematic of UTP’s mission,” said UTP Director Joshua H. Siegel. “Offering competitive rents for lab space in the heart of Chicago allows young companies to focus on innovation, growth, and collaboration. Flexible lease terms, plug-and-play lab facilities, connections with the Illinois Tech and Chicago innovation ecosystems, and an ability to help each UTP company expand at a pace that aligns with its specific industry and technology fosters an environment that drives organic growth.”

SAMDI Tech grew steadily in the UTP incubator. It started in just one wet lab, and today it occupies more than 4,000 rentable square feet, with access to many common facilities including board and meeting rooms as well as shared equipment that the incubator offers.

“At SAMDI Tech, we see University Technology Park as a key partner,” said Scholle. “Our relationship goes beyond landlord-tenant — UTP has facilitated our growth and assisted our company along its journey, and SAMDI Tech has in turn helped grow the UTP incubator and cultivate a culture of innovation and cooperation. As a company, SAMDI Tech would not be where it is today without our close relationship with Illinois Tech and University Technology Park.”

SAMDI Tech has also been able to take advantage of access to the talented Illinois Tech student pool for hiring employees and interns. Scholle said the students are a great resource with the technical skills to thrive.