CRADL® Vivarium Lab Space

• Private or shared holding rooms with cage or rack starter options
• Double-sided rack system capable of holding up to 176 mouse- (or 80 rat-) irradiated, individually ventilated, and disposable cages*
• Shared and private procedure room options
• Private research suites with flexible configurations
• Short or long-term vivarium rental service agreement

*North America only; international facility caging systems vary.

• Daily food and water checks (including weekends and holidays)
• Routine cage changes
• BSL-1/BSL-2, immuno-compromised, and immuno-competent rodent colonies

• Daily visual health checks (including weekends and holidays)
• Specialized staff skilled in laboratory animal care
• Expert veterinarian oversight and consultation
• Animal welfare reporting and treatment when needed
• OLAW (NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare) and Public Health Service (PHS) Assurance

• IACUC committee to guide/support protocol review and approval
• AAALAC-accredited programs
• Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) oversight
• Online vivarium and animal care training platform
• Animal health monitoring and biosecurity testing
• Import pathogen review (e.g., animals and cell lines)

• PPE, dry/wet ice, freezers, and euthanasia equipment
• Research animal procurement
• Frequent facility cleaning
• Around-the-clock secured building access
• Optional supply procurement
• Optional personal equipment maintenance management
• Standard equipment (e.g., gas anesthesia units, centrifuge, etc.) may be rented on an as-needed basis

• In vivo technical support (e.g., dosing, in-life monitoring, specimen collections, terminal procedures, etc.)
• Access to IVIS imager*
• Access to cell culture suite*
• Access to CRO-Discovery services
• Quarantine*

*Available in select facilities only.    

• Complimentary Scientific Advisory consult on drug development strategy and roadblocks
• Strain selection support and custom model development guidance
• Rapid connection to our Safety Assessment and Discovery service team
• IND preparation guidance from our Safety Assessment team
• Optional cell lines sourcing, cell line testing kits, and services 

Vivarium infrastructure is one of the costliest builds for a life science company, with some of the most expensive real estate prices reaching $600 – $1,000 per square foot in some regions. Proper air handling systems, backup power systems, research equipment, and waste disposal considerations are all requirements that add to the cost of vivarium infrastructure development.

CRADL vivarium labs offer a cost-efficient, more rapidly accessible solution for companies looking for new or expanded vivarium lab space or no longer want to build and operate a private vivarium.

Yes. CRADL vivariums are designed to support your research, including onsite storage of specialized equipment and materials. 

Our team works closely with you to assess space requirements, power needs, heat output, and noise levels to determine the best setup for your equipment within your designated room. Whether you're bringing in imaging systems, lab benches, or other custom tools, we help ensure a smooth integration. To streamline the process, we recommend discussing your equipment needs with your regional CRADL representative early during onboarding so we can plan accordingly and avoid delays.

At CRADL, researchers find an ideal environment for conducting in vivo studies of mice and rats across a wide range of therapeutic areas. Whether you're advancing work in oncology, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, neurology, autoimmune disorders, infectious agents, or metabolic conditions, CRADL vivarium labs are designed to support your science.

Each site provides biosafety level 1 and 2 (BSL-1 & BSL-2) environments, ensuring compliance and safety for complex research programs. If your study falls into a more specialized category, we’re happy to assess equipment needs and provide a solution that works for you.

Experts are available to perform technical procedures such as dosing, bleeding, euthanasia for necropsy, sample labeling, and aid in anesthesia induction and monitoring. Other general husbandry support is available to aid with vivarium functions such as breeding or weaning animals, measuring body weights or tumor growth, animal identification, animal study prep, and adding or removing non-standard diets (upon request).

We offer scientific staffing, recruiting, and training services for private biotech, pharma, and academic vivaria. Experts are available to help fill your vivarium lab with highly trained and qualified staff to keep the focus on achieving your research goals. If you need to expand beyond your vivarium lab for short-term studies or space needs, consider our CRADL^® vivarium rental option as a cost-efficient alternative to building additional lab space.

One size does not fit all in preclinical research, and CRADL understands. We offer flexible vivarium rental options to accommodate the unique needs of your in vivo studies:

• Shared holding rooms with access to shared procedure space
• Private holding rooms with the option for either shared or private procedure space
• Private vivarium suites, which can include a connecting interior door for seamless movement between your holding and procedure rooms

Across our vivarium labs, you’ll also find access to shared core lab resources such as IVIS imaging, cell culture rooms, irradiators, and more. Amenities vary by location, often including touchdown kitchen and lounge spaces to support your onsite teams.

Yes, you can start with a single row on a rack within a shared animal holding room. This ‘by-the-row' option is accessible with a minimum three-month contract term. Each row holds up to eight mice cages (rat caging is available at some facilities). This offers a low-cost solution for start-up or pilot research projects with the ability to expand your vivarium rental services to more rows or racks in that shared room or move to a private room as needed.

Flexibility is at the heart of our model. CRADL offers vivarium contracts starting at just three months, with the ability to scale up to multi-year engagements. As your research program grows, expanding is simple: add more rows, racks, or rooms without the hassle of relocating or starting over. Whether you’re a startup launching your first in vivo study or an established biotech scaling your pipeline, CRADL grows with you.

We're committed to the ethical and humane treatment of animals in research. The CRADL program and facilities are led by a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine along with a team of experienced attending veterinarians at each vivarium lab location.

Animal welfare and biosecurity are included in your CRADL service, and animals receive the best care in secure, modern, and compliant facilities.

When a research vivarium has AAALAC accreditation, it shows that a certain level of quality and accountability has been achieved. AAALAC accreditation is a voluntary process of extensive review and assessment from industry-leading experts. Achieving AAALAC accreditation for your programs lets the public know that the vivarium is committed to responsible practices and demonstrates excellence in animal care.