LITTLE ROCK — About 50 jobs would remain in Redfield under a proposed acquisition of a drug-testing lab that had been scheduled to close, which would have eliminated 120 positions.
Little Rock-based Consensus Biolabs, LLC, said Monday that it has signed an agreement to buy the 90,000-square-foot lab from Charles River Laboratories International for an undisclosed price.
Charles River, of Wilmington, Mass., said in February that the facility would close by year's end. Charles River on Monday did not provide any more details.
William M. Carpenter, the founder and chief executive of Consensus, said in a telephone interview that employment at the Charles River plant has been winding down since the February announcement.
"I'd say that the majority of the work force that are there now, we will retain and bring over to the new company," Carpenter said.
Consensus Biolabs would begin operating the facility in January, he said.
The Consensus deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter and depends on meeting financing and other conditions, Carpenter said in a release.
"The value of this transaction is based on the highly skilled and technical work force, especially the senior laboratory staff that has an excellent track record and, on average, more than 25 years experience in the industry," Carpenter said.
According to the release, Consensus officials have signed proposals for more than $3 million in new contracts and plan to operate the lab as a contract research organization, performing work for clients in academia, biotechnology start-ups and other companies.
Carpenter said the firm would especially cater to companies developing one or two drugs without the capabilities to do in-house research.
"This lab is ideally suited to sustain itself by developing drugs for smaller, venture [capital]- backed drug companies," Randy Jones, president and chief scientific officer for Consensus, said in the release.
Charles River had said it was closing the plant because of the global economic downturn.
The facility had been the largest employer in the town of about 1,200 in Jefferson County.
The county in June had an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent, according to Arkansas Department of Workforce Services data, compared with 7.5 percent for the state.
Besides the building and land, the Consensus purchase would include research equipment.
Carpenter said the company is in the process of applying to the state's Equity Investment Tax Credit program, which allows approved companies to offer an income-tax credit to investors who buy an ownership stake.
Scott Hardin, an official with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said that agency has not approved Consensus for any incentives.
Business, Pages 21, 26 on 08/25/2009