Pace Analytical

What Pace Analytical does

Pace Analytical is a privately held, PE-backed laboratory services company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota. It operates a national network of 100+ laboratory and service center locations across the United States plus Puerto Rico, organized into three primary divisions: Analytical + Environmental (water, soil, air, and solid matrix testing including PFAS, asbestos, Legionella, VOCs, metals, radiochemistry, and emergency response); Pace Life Sciences (a full-service CDMO and CRO spanning drug development, formulation and process development, GMP clinical manufacturing, analytical testing, medical device testing, and regulatory services); and Professional Services (scientific staffing, instrument calibration, cleanroom certification, facility validation, and FDA regulatory consulting). The company is owned by Aurora Capital Partners and Leonard Green & Partners, with Pace Science and Technology Company as the ultimate parent.

The company's revenue model is professional services / fee-for-service testing, with quote-based project pricing and no publicly disclosed pricing. Customer segments span pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical drug developers, environmental and industrial clients, medical device manufacturers, government agencies, building/property owners, and food/nutraceutical producers. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales through local service centers, with on-site field services and mobile laboratory capabilities, supported by the PacePort client portal for secure data/report delivery. Regulatory assets include FDA registration, DEA registration, ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, cGMP compliance, ISO 9001 certification (Professional Services), and FDA 21 CFR Part 820 alignment, providing defensible barriers to entry in pharmaceutical and medical device testing.

Strategic positioning centers on the integrated 'one Pace' model that combines environmental testing depth with a full CDMO/CRO platform for small molecules, biologics (proteins, peptides, antibodies, ADCs), gene therapies, and medical devices. Notable infrastructure includes the 50,000 ft² Oakdale CRO facility, 33,000 ft² Philadelphia GMP clinical manufacturing site, 30,000 ft² Salem CDMO with aseptic fill-finish capability, 22,000 ft² Woburn/Boston CRO, 22,000 ft² San German (Puerto Rico) facility, and a 'National Center for Analytical Testing & Innovation' in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The August 2022 acquisition of Meridian BioGroup extended capabilities into GxP consulting, quality system development, audit remediation, validation master planning, and computer system validation, while recent FDA-compliant inspections at RTP, NC and San German validate GMP standing. Leadership consists of CEO Eric Roman and Pace Life Sciences President Greg Kupp.

Name

Pace Analytical

Legal name

Pace Analytical Services, LLC

Website

https://esclabsciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Pace Analytical is a privately held, PE-backed laboratory services company operating 100+ facilities across the US and Puerto Rico. It provides environmental testing, full-service CDMO/CRO drug development and manufacturing, and professional/scientific services to pharmaceutical, environmental, medical device, and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Analytical Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Release Testing & Batch Certification (QC) (HLAGADAC), CMC & Pharmaceutical Development (Formulation/Process/Analytical Development) (HLAIALAD), Water & Utility Testing (PW/WFI/Steam/Gases) (HLAGADAO)

Keywords

• Environmental testing services
• Analytical laboratory testing
• Pharmaceutical CDMO services
• Life sciences manufacturing
• Professional lab services

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices124 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Analytical and Environmental Testing Services: Laboratory testing services for environmental samples including air, water, soil, and industrial materials. Services include chemical analysis, microbiology testing, and specialized environmental testing for regulatory compliance.
2. Life Sciences CDMO Services: Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization services including drug product development, analytical testing, clinical manufacturing, regulatory consulting, and GMP-compliant manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical clients.
3. Professional Services: Scientific staffing, instrument maintenance and calibration, facility validation, regulatory compliance consulting, and laboratory relocation services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pace Analytical provides environmental analytical testing, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization) services, and scientific professional services through a national network of FDA-registered, DEA-registered, cGMP-compliant, and ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratories. The company delivers laboratory testing for environmental samples (water, soil, air, solids), drug development and clinical manufacturing for pharmaceutical and gene therapy products, and on-site professional services including instrument calibration, facility validation, and regulatory consulting.

Product overview

Pace Analytical is a multi-divisional laboratory services company operating under two primary divisions: Analytical + Environmental Services (environmental testing for water, soil, air, and solid matrices) and Pace Life Sciences (a full-service CDMO). The portfolio includes core divisions for analytical/environmental testing, life sciences CDMO services, and professional services (staffing, instruments, facilities). Key products/modules span drug development and manufacturing, analytical testing (raw materials, microbiology, impurities, extractables/leachables, stability storage, packaging/distribution testing), medical device testing, and building sciences. The company operates a national network of FDA-registered, GMP-compliant, ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratories across the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Analytical + Environmental Testing Services

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Meridian BioGroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 August 2022Acquisition of Meridian BioGroup, a Maryland-based validation, regulatory, and compliance contract service provider to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical communities. Meridian brings qualified specialists from manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, engineering, and validation backgrounds. The acquisition expanded Pace Life Sciences' capabilities in regulatory guidance and strategy, quality system development, audit remediation, validation master planning, facility and utility system validation, computer system validation, and third-party auditing services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SGS SA: SGS is a global testing, inspection, and certification giant with environmental, life sciences, and pharma testing practices. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Pace on environmental testing and pharma quality/analytical services but operates at a much larger global scale.
• Avantor: Avantor distributes life sciences products and offers manufacturing services through its acquired CDMO businesses (including VWR and prior clinical manufacturing assets). It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with Pace's pharma materials and bioprocessing services.
• Bureau Veritas: Bureau Veritas is a global TIC (testing, inspection, certification) company with environmental and life sciences testing offerings. It overlaps Pace's environmental and compliance testing but is a much broader conglomerate with significant non-lab businesses.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Through its Patheon CDMO and PPD clinical research businesses, Thermo Fisher is a dominant global CDMO and life sciences services company. It competes with Pace Life Sciences across pharma development, clinical manufacturing, and analytical testing at much larger scale.
• Labcorp (Labcorp Drug Development / Fortrea): Labcorp operates clinical laboratories and a drug development business (now Fortrea) spanning central lab services, bioanalytical, and early development. It overlaps with Pace Life Sciences in pharma analytical testing and CDMO-adjacent services.

Direct peers

• Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins is the largest global testing services network with deep environmental, pharma, and life sciences testing capabilities. It directly overlaps Pace's Analytical + Environmental division and increasingly competes in pharma bioanalytical and CDMO-adjacent testing, making it Pace's closest direct competitor by service breadth.
• Charles River Laboratories: Charles River operates a Discovery & Safety Assessment, Manufacturing Solutions, and CDMO business, providing non-clinical CRO, biologics testing, and cell/gene therapy CDMO services. It directly competes with Pace Life Sciences in pharma/biologics testing and early-stage manufacturing.
• Catalent: Catalent is one of the largest CDMOs globally, offering formulation, clinical and commercial manufacturing, and drug delivery technologies for small molecules and biologics. It competes directly with Pace Life Sciences in pharma drug development and clinical supply manufacturing.
• WuXi AppTec / WuXi Biologics: WuXi is a global CRO/CDMO with extensive small molecule, biologics, and cell/gene therapy capabilities. It directly competes with Pace Life Sciences in pharma R&D services, formulation, and clinical manufacturing.

Emerging players

• ICON plc: ICON (post-PRA Health Sciences) is a global CRO with growing bioanalytical and laboratory services. It competes with Pace Life Sciences in pharma lab services and clinical development support and is expanding CDMO-adjacent capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PaceLabs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/PaceLabsInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/PaceLabsUSA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paceanalyticalservices
• Instagraminstagram.com/pace.labs

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pace Analytical