PRINCETON, N.J., May 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Covance Inc. (NYSE: CVD) today announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Signet Laboratories, Inc. for $8.95 million. Signet, which is based in Dedham, MA, is a leading provider of monoclonal antibodies used in the research of cancer, infectious disease and neurodegenerative disease.

"This acquisition strengthens Covance's leadership position in providing antibodies and detection reagents that support early drug development discovery work," said Joe Herring, Covance Chairman and CEO. "These new service offerings will allow us to tap into commercial opportunities in the pharmaceutical and clinical diagnostics markets. We look forward to integrating these new products and services in our drug development portfolio, and in particular with our industry leading preclinical and central laboratory services."

"Signet's outstanding line of immunological diagnostic kits and reagents enhances Covance's well-established line of antibodies for neuroscience, neurodegenerative disease research, and epitope tags," said Tony Cork, Corporate Senior Vice President and co-President of Early Development. "We are excited to welcome Signet employees to Covance as they help us deliver enhanced solutions to our clients engaged in discovery and early-phase drug development studies."

Covance, with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive drug development services companies with annual revenues greater than $1 billion, global operations in more than 20 countries, and more than 7,400 employees worldwide. Information on Covance's products and services, recent press releases, and SEC filings can be obtained through the Covance website.

Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, such as statements about prospective earnings, savings, revenue, operations, revenue and earnings growth and other financial results are forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All such forward-looking statements including the statements contained herein regarding anticipated trends in the Company's business are based largely on management's expectations and are subject to and qualified by risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the Company's ability to integrate the Signet transaction and sell its product lines, and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Annual Report on Form 10- K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.