Inotiv, a pharmaceutical company, acknowledges a ransomware incident.

In a significant cybersecurity incident, the ransomware group Qilin has targeted Indiana-based pharmaceutical research firm Inotiv. The attack, which occurred on August 11, 2025, has disrupted parts of Inotiv's business operations and encrypted some of its internal systems and data.

According to reports, the Qilin ransomware gang stole nearly 176 GB of data, including ten years of research information, financial records, research contracts, purchase orders, and employee information from Inotiv. The stolen data was published on Qilin's leak site to support their claims of responsibility for the attack.

The attack on Inotiv is part of a larger trend of hackers targeting companies within the healthcare sector. Moody's, a global credit rating agency, reported that 19 similar attacks have been confirmed worldwide in 2025, leading to more than 6 million records being breached. Rebecca Moody, head of data research at Comparitech, stated that attacks on companies like Inotiv could have far-reaching consequences due to their access to large datasets across multiple entities.

Inotiv has notified law enforcement about the ransomware attack and has taken some of its systems offline and shifted parts of its work to manual alternatives to contain the damage. External cybersecurity experts have been brought in to support the investigation at Inotiv.

The breach prevented access to certain databases and applications used in day-to-day business processes at Inotiv. The incident was mostly linked to the Change Healthcare breach, with 51 such incidents occurring in 2024.

Rebecca Moody advised that anyone working for or with Inotiv should be on high alert for phishing campaigns and monitor their accounts for any suspicious activity. She also noted that hackers continue to focus on data theft and system encryption, making companies like Inotiv an attractive target.

No timeline has been provided for a full recovery at Inotiv, and no comment has been received from the company regarding the recent information security inquiries. However, with the significant impact the attack has had on Inotiv's operations, it is expected that the disruptions will continue for some time. Inotiv, with around 2000 employees and over $490m in reported revenues last year, is one of the largest pharmaceutical research firms in the US.