American pharmaceutical and contract research company Inotiv has disclosed a ransomware attack that encrypted portions of its systems and data, disrupting business operations. The company revealed the incident in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), noting the breach occurred on August 8, 2025. Following discovery, Inotiv took immediate containment measures and launched an investigation with external cybersecurity experts, while also notifying law enforcement.
Source: inotiv.com.
According to Inotiv, the attackers gained unauthorized access to internal systems, encrypting critical databases and applications essential for business processes. The Qilin ransomware group has since claimed responsibility, alleging it exfiltrated 162,000 files amounting to 176GB of sensitive data. To bolster their claims, the gang has published data samples on its leak site, adding pressure on the company as recovery efforts continue.
The incident has caused notable operational disruptions, forcing Inotiv’s IT team to restore systems while migrating some workflows to offline alternatives. The company expects adverse business impacts to persist until systems are fully remediated and secured.
Based in Indiana, Inotiv employs around 2,000 specialists and generates over $500 million annually through drug development, discovery, safety assessment, and live animal research modeling. The ransomware attack highlights the growing risks faced by research organizations handling sensitive data, with long-term consequences for both business continuity and data security.
