Charles River expands 3D in vitro services in agreement with CELLphenomics

Charles River announced that it has entered into an agreement with CELLphenomics. This enhanced offering will provide Charles River clients with access to CELLphenomics’ proprietary 3D tumor model platform, PD3D, expanding Charles River’s 3D in vitro testing services to further optimize oncological approaches for its clients. CELLphenomics’ core competency is the establishment and cultivation of complex patient-derived 3D cell culture models (PD3D) from various solid tumor tissues. These highly reliable, well-annotated and predictive preclinical PD3D models robustly recapitulate the biological properties of the donor tissue, including key histopathological features and genomic makeup. They are a powerful tool for disease modeling, biomarker and drug discovery. CELLphenomics’ continuously growing biobank comprises more than 500 complex in vitro models from more than 20 tumor entities, and offers the world’s largest collection of complex in vitro models of rare and ultra-rare tumors like sarcomas or thymomas. CELLphenomics has developed a custom mid-throughput screening platform that blends complex cell culture models with advanced automation and a streamlined analysis pipeline. The proprietary, precision medicine PD3D platform offers mid-throughput efficacy testing, drug combination screening, toxicity profiling, target validation, drug sensitivity correlation with clinical response, and biomarker identification. The agreement will also provide CELLphenomics access to Charles River’s genomically annotated and in vivo characterized cancer model database to develop PD3D models. The database is comprised of more than 700 tumor models, including PDX, cell lines and cell line-derived xenografts. These models have been profiled for histological features, molecular data, and sensitivity to standard-of-care compounds, allowing a precise selection of suitable tumor models for preclinical anti-cancer agent testing. The biological advantages of PDX include the retention of histological and genetic characteristics of the donor tumor and the preservation of cell-autonomous heterogeneity. The merge of both biobanks will significantly increase the translational relevance of the in vitro and in vivo platforms offered by CELLphenomics and Charles River.