In a vote of confidence for China, leading outsourcing company, Charles River Laboratories (CRL) of Wilmington, Massachusetts, plans to spend $1.6 billion to buy Chinese contract research organization WuXi PharmTech of Shanghai. The transaction will create the first global contract research company to offer a fully-integrated drug development service, from molecule creation to early clinical studies. But activist hedge fund Jana Partners, Charles River's largest shareholder, is arguing that the price paid for WuXi is unjustified and intends to stop the merger. Should the deal go ahead, “The new company will be able to provide lower-cost services, though price is probably the least important metric—more significant are quality, know-how and full-service capabilities,” says Ross Muken of Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. “There have been quality issues in China in the past, but with support of the Chinese government these have improved.” Companies engaging these integrated services will also gain better access to the booming Chinese market. “Carrying out R&D in China will speed up Chinese drug launches and allow companies to optimize therapeutics for Asian people,” says Johnny Huang of Frost & Sullivan. Some analysts have suggested that WuXi's animal testing facility will attract companies that no longer want to face Western animal rights campaigners, but Muken does not believe this to be a deciding factor.