The pitfall to awarding the trial to this university could bring about ethical issues. With so many ties to the university one could assume possible manipulation of data to favor the clinical trial. Also, the risk of kickbacks associated with awarding the contract to alma mater.
Depending on the location of this lab the preclinical trials may not be conducted to specific guidelines. In certain countries animal rights may differ from that of the U.S. It is known that stressed rats develop chronic inflammatory conditions that can affect the overall data collected.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594046/
The location of the site may also be an extra expense when traveling is involved. On the other hand the location might be very cheap but remember you always get what you pay for.