How Modern Vivarium Services Are Revolutionizing Drug Development

As the biopharma industry rapidly evolves, the managed vivarium business model has emerged as a crucial solution for both growing and established life sciences innovators navigating an increasingly complex drug development and regulatory landscape. This shift is aligned with broader changes in the approach drug developers are using to address their research infrastructure needs, particularly in preclinical studies, where efficiency and regulatory compliance are critical to success.

“The managed vivarium business model has been growing, mostly driven by increased preclinical demand from the drug discovery, biomedical research and biotechnology sectors,” explained Argenis Peña, senior director animal facilities at SmartLabs, who has two decades of experience in vivarium operations. Peña highlighted that outsourcing vivarium operations helps both emerging and established drug developers reduce the capital and operational challenges associated with managing their own facility.

In recent years, the biopharma industry has experienced a surge in innovation, driving demand for specialized scientific and technology talent and cutting-edge research environments across the different stages of drug development, including for preclinical studies. Because of the rapid pace at which technology is evolving and the pressing need to adapt to the blending of sciences and technology, drug developers must continuously integrate new innovations into their drug development process to stay competitive. Peña observed, “This demand has made the managed vivarium model increasingly attractive to companies looking to accelerate their development timelines by gaining immediate access to high-quality in vivo expertise and research environments.” At the same time, capital efficiency and operational flexibility have become even more critical, especially for smaller biotech companies navigating uncertain funding conditions. “With the current economic landscape, many companies need to prioritize research over infrastructure costs,” Peña explained. “The managed vivarium model allows them to do just that — providing access to high-quality facilities and expertise without the capital investment required to build and maintain their own.” This approach helps biopharma companies stay agile, adapting to both market shifts and scientific advancements while optimizing resources for innovation.

Regulatory requirements are changing quickly and growing increasingly complex as the industry keeps evolving. As a result, drug developers show an increasing interest in partnering with strategic service providers who are not only experts in their fields, but are also able to keep up with those regulatory changes and help them avoid costly missteps that could entirely derail their research programs.

“Ensuring the vivarium complies with relevant regulatory standards is critical for data integrity and the ethical treatment of animals,” Peña emphasized. “Failures to meet what are stringent standards can result in questionable data, regulatory complications and inevitable research delays.”

The financial ramifications of noncompliance are substantial. As Peña explained, “Delays can range from a couple hundred dollars if you’re delayed a few hours to millions of dollars if you get delayed for weeks at a time. The numbers add up. If you factor in the cost of labor, cost of formulation that needs to be recreated, cost of animals and rent space, you can quickly be facing significant financial impact for a couple of simple week-long delays.”

These delays have cascading effects on research timelines and milestone achievements. “Usually, minor delays or simpler challenges can be corrected quickly as long as you have an experienced team on your side,” Peña noted. “But failing to respond in a timely manner can cost organizations thousands, potentially even setting back scheduled milestones for that drug in the pipeline.” In an industry where capital access remains highly competitive, even short delays can disrupt funding cycles and investor confidence. Despite gradual economic recovery, drug developers must operate with precision and efficiency — every lost week can mean lost opportunities and a diminishing competitive edge against rivals.

While there are similarities in the needs of biotech companies and large pharma, the managed vivarium model needs to be adaptable to various organizational requirements. “The needs of new biotech companies versus large pharma can vary due to differences in scale, resources and research focus,” Peña explained. “A startup may need full managed resources including space, staffing and expertise, while a large pharma company who usually has access to more resources might focus on tactical support to reach specific preclinical stages or expanding existing experiments.”

In a landscape where speed and efficiency are paramount, such flexibility is particularly valuable for emerging biotechnology companies who are navigating an uncertain and rapidly changing economic environment. These drug developers often need to scale their operations quickly and fill expertise gaps with extra support while maintaining strict quality standards. Being able to rapidly access expert resources without significant capital investment can be a key driver to their success.

To maximize the benefits of collaborating with an experienced vivarium partner, companies must consider several critical factors. In addition to the reputation, flexibility, robust regulatory oversight and scalability of vivarium partners, Peña highlighted the importance of assessing a provider’s ability to offer turnkey in vivo solutions – including advanced, fully equipped facilities, comprehensive operational and scientific services, and direct access to in-house experts. Equally critical is the robustness and sophistication of the provider’s infrastructure.

“Selecting a partner that can provide a turnkey vivarium space can easily help propel a company’s research,” Peña stated. “Licensing flexible vivarium space offers many benefits for biotech and biopharma companies, such as no capital investment, the ability to scale up or down based on how their research evolves, and the capacity to strictly focus on their research by benefiting from extensive operational and scientific support.”

In Peña’s view, the importance of proper, enterprise-grade infrastructure cannot be overstated. “The physical facility, which includes air handling units, emergency power and any critical life systems, needs a comprehensive regulatory oversight program,” he said. “You want all the permitting in place, SOPs, guidance documents – everything that is captured in a quality animal program.”

Infrastructure challenges can often result in drug developers needing to switch vivarium facilities – and issues with infrastructure can be severe. “I’ve seen walls falling apart, flooring issues, and mechanical failures of life-critical systems,” Peña shared. “Companies then face a choice: inject a lot of capital into keeping a facility barely operating or look towards partnering with a new vivarium provider.”

Although transitioning facilities are logistically complex, particularly with ongoing research and large animal cohorts, the right partner can manage this process effectively. “Finding another vivarium partner that can offer the flexibility to get you from point A to point B, manage that process for you, and then provide the high-quality research that you need once the animals are in their new facility is paramount to a successful outcome,” Peña advised.

In addition to infrastructure, drug developers need to keep in mind the need for continuous, 24-hour operations to ensure constant monitoring and care for research animals. This level of commitment requires significant planning, resources and expertise that many companies find challenging to maintain in-house.

As the biotechnology sector continues to evolve, the combination of regulatory expertise, operational efficiency and scalability makes the managed vivarium model an attractive option for companies at all stages of development. To maximize success, drug developers should select partners with the necessary cutting-edge infrastructure, expertise and service model aligned with their long-term research goals and quality standards.

Success in preclinical research increasingly depends on choosing the right operational model and securing a partner that provides both the expertise and infrastructure needed to advance drug development efficiently and in full compliance. As regulatory landscapes grow more complex, the ability to quickly access specialized vivarium services and state-of-the-art facilities is becoming a key differentiator for biotech companies looking to accelerate innovation.

This article was written in collaboration with SmartLabs.

The insights team analyzes and comments on industry trends and creates thought leadership content for BioSpace and clients. The head of insights, Lori Ellis, can be contacted via lori.ellis@biospace.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.