Laboratory services provider Labcorp (NYSE:LH) announced on Thursday a collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and pharmaceutical research services provider Charles River Laboratories International Inc (NYSE:CRL) to advance the science used to evaluate a medicine's abuse potential, or the likelihood that it could be abused.

This research aims to support safer drug development and more informed regulatory decisions.

The collaboration brings together complementary expertise from industry and government. Labcorp will contribute its experience conducting regulatory abuse potential studies, while FDA scientists will conduct data analysis and contribute regulatory science expertise. Together, the organisations aim to advance the science used to evaluate the risk that a medicine could be abused using harmonised behavioural economics methodology to quantify and rank abuse potential.

Understanding how medicines and emerging substances may be used outside controlled settings is critical to protecting public health and informing regulatory decision-making, Labcorp said. The collaboration aims to advance the science used to assess abuse-related risks and generate evidence that may help improve the prediction of real-world use patterns.