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Taconic, a leading provider of life sciences solutions, and Oncodesign(R), an innovative leader in the discovery of novel anti-cancer therapies, announce today that they have entered into an agreement to co-develop and co-promote pre-clinical oncology in vivo solutions for researchers worldwide. The agreement provides researchers with improved access to a large, diverse portfolio of translational models for use in pre-clinical oncology studies, along with supporting scientific services. The combined Taconic-Oncodesign portfolio gives oncology researchers access to powerful tools to advance their drug discovery and improve efficacy testing. This unique offering features a broad spectrum of in vivo models – including Oncodesign’s Chi Mice(R) – state-of-the-art preclinical models grafted with patient-derived xenografts and a human immune system, to reproduce the human environment – as well as Taconic’s genetically modified models of oncology and the DuPont(TM) OncoMouse(R), providing access to sophisticated spontaneous tumor models.
To complement this broad range of oncology-specific models, Taconic and Oncodesign will provide highly sophisticated imaging technologies – from optical bioluminescent imaging to MRI, PET and SPECT Pharm’Image(R) technologies for monitoring tumor growth in vivo and ex vivo, and biomarker discovery – along with in vivo and in vitro pharmacology research services.
In addition, both partners will combine their expertise in the use of immunodeficient mouse models and co-develop novel applications of Taconic’s CIEA NOG mouse(R). These super-immunodeficient mice will be reconstituted with a human immune system and patient-derived tumor tissues, providing an additional tool for testing of novel cancer therapeutics in a physiological relevant setting.
“The partnership of Taconic and Oncodesign results in a single source for a wide-range of translational disease-specific models and services in oncology, designed to increase the efficiency of drug discovery and benefit basic oncology research,” said Dr. Paul Rounding, senior vice president translational models and solutions, Taconic. “Both companies employ innovative in vivo technologies to advance oncology drug discovery, improve compound testing, and generate translational pre-clinical data. This synergistic combination will provide our present and future customers with access to broader oncology platform of products, service and expertise.”
“With more than 800 cancer therapies currently in clinical development*, the demand for innovative tools to improve and accelerate oncology research continues to increase,” said Philippe Genne, president and chief executive officer, Oncodesign. “By combining our complementary technology, scientific and marketing resources and expertise, our alliance with Taconic is providing investigators with unrivalled access to a comprehensive set of predictive tools to improve anti-cancer therapies experimentation efficiency. We are very pleased to collaborate with Taconic which is an international company sharing the same ambition.”
* According to a 2010 report of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
About Oncodesign
Founded in 1995 and headed by Dr. Philippe Genne, Oncodesign(R) is a pioneer in the preclinical assessment of anti-cancer therapies, a market that it has led for many years now. Oncodesign’s mission consists of discovering effective anti-cancer therapies. Its scientific expertise in pharmacology, imaging and medicinal chemistry, in addition to strong project management skills, support the company’s two strategic activities of experimentation and discovery, conducted in partnership with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
The experimentation activity is organized in three technological platforms: PREDICT(R) specializes in conventional in vitro and in vivo pharmacology; Chi-Mice(R) focuses on the development of in vivo chimeric humanized models; PharmImage(R) is dedicated to multi-modal, non-invasive pharmaco-imaging. On the basis of these three platforms, Oncodesign markets a broad range of products and services (fee-for-service) for the assessment, validation, targeting and diagnostic linking of anticancer therapies.
In 2010, Oncodesign incorporated a medicinal chemistry technology into its discovery activity: Nanocyclix(R), which is dedicated to the synthesis of highly potent and selective novel kinase inhibitors. The combination of these four technological platforms results in a unique and innovative translational research approach in a risk-sharing approach between partners. For more information see: http://www.oncodesign.com.
About Taconic
Taconic is a leading provider of life sciences solutions to researchers worldwide, offering innovative lab animal models and scientific services that facilitate in vivo studies and advance drug discovery. Taconic’s wide range of advanced solutions include custom model design, generation and production, imaging, off-the-shelf model repositories, compound profiling, contract research, contract breeding, genetic monitoring and health testing. Headquartered in New York’s Hudson River Valley, Taconic operates seven breeding facilities and three service laboratories in the U.S. and Europe and maintains a staff of over 1,000 scientific specialists committed to technological innovation. Additional information about Taconic is available at http://www.taconic.com.
