Charles River teams up with 3D cell culture tech provider to expand in vitro oncology services
InSphero AG supplies 3D solutions for in vitro drug discovery and development. The companies 3D InSight Discovery Platform includes assay-ready and custom 3D disease models derived from primary human liver, pancreas, and tumor tissues, according to the company. The disease models enable biological insight into liver fibrosis, diabetes, and cancer.
As part of the agreement, Charles River will use InSphero’s 3D cell culture technology to extend its preclinical services using in vitro 3D InSight Tumor Microtissues derived from its existing patient-derived xenograft (PDX) collection, according to the company.
Additionally, Charles River will license its PDX tumor collection to InSphero.
“InSphero’s platform allows better penetration and assessment of biologics and other molecules than was previously possible,” Aidan Synnott, executive director, discovery oncology at Charles River told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
“With the increasing prevalence of this modality in the cancer field, it means Charles River’s PDX collection can be used for a wider range of 3D in vitro programs than ever before,” he said.
As for next steps, Synnott said Charles River “will continue to work with InSphero to ensure a comprehensive set of tumor panels that respond similarly to our in vivo studies.”
The partnership is set to continue for the foreseeable future, he explained.
“Following the announcement of our partnership with OcellO earlier this year, this collaboration is a further affirmation of Charles River’s commitment to the in vitro oncology space,” said Synnott.
