Demand for contract biomarker services has increased markedly in recent times as the drug sector aims to generate maximum return on R&D investment by selecting only the most promising candidates at the preclinical stage.
Additionally, the use of biomarker analysis in clinical trials has also increased, for both safety assessments and patient stratification purposes as developers acknowledge the technique's positive impact on study success rates.
Recognising these trends, a growing number of contract research organisations (CRO) have begun either boosting internal capacity or extending their biomarker offerings by forming partnerships with specialist laboratories.
For example, in the last few months both Aushon BioSystems and Pacific Biometrics have both taken steps to bolster their respective offerings with additional laboratory capacity and investment funding.
Prior to that Clinical Reference Laboratory (CRL) set up an analysis laboratory in collaboration with UK CRO Quotient Bioresearch, while Millipore expanded its European biomarker operations through the acquisition of BioAnaLab.
Covance has also been actively building biomarker capacity, even before its deal with RBM. In December, it bought shares in Caprion Proteomics to add that firm’s biomaker services to its offering.
This was followed, in July, by a doubling of the New Jersey CRO’s metabolite analysis capacity at its sites in Madison, Wisconsin and Harrogate in the UK and the acquisition of a gene expression lab from US drugmaker Merck & Co.
Biomarkers in trials
Under the new accord, RBM will begin by applying its range of multi-analyte profile (MAP) technologies, including its DiscoveryMap platform, to early-stage projects being carried out by Covance’s customers.
As the research progresses, RBM will use its CustomMap platform to create a bespoke panel of tests biomarker based on the projects’ patient stratification, safety and efficacy requirements.
Deborah Turner, president of Covance’s central lab services, stressed the benefits of the collaboration, suggesting that: “[RBM’s technology] along with Covance's other biomarker capabilities, are critical tools for drug safety and efficacy testing that can help our clients make better decisions earlier in drug development and accelerate their drug development programs."
RBM CEO Craig Benson said the deal will also benefit his firm, explaining that: “[the] alliance can provide RBM with greater access to drug developers seeking to implement biomarker strategies in order to improve the effectiveness of their clinical trials.”