“CrownBio is continually looking for ways to enhance our translational platforms and expand our offering to our global client base,” Jim Wang, M.D., Senior Vice President of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases (CVMD) Research told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
“PreClinOmics’ (PCO) models and services complement CrownBio’s existing portfolio, providing a unique range of rodent models that have been developed by Richard Peterson, one of the two major founders of PCO.”
PCO’s diabetes models have an intact leptin pathway, which more closely mimics human disease compared to traditional rodent models, according to Wang, who added that through the acquisition “CrownBio will become a unique provider of end-to-end solutions for diabetes, cardiovascular and metabolic disease drug development, utilizing the most translatable in vivo preclinical models currently available.”
The acquisition will also expand CrownBio’s range of technologies, including discovery and analytical services, ADME/PK services, safety/non-GLP toxicology services and genetic models, supporting a study design portfolio in the areas of metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and renal disease, and neurology.
The acquisition also adds another facility to CrownBio’s global operations, in addition to a team of experts to provide both local and global services and support.
As part of the acquisition, PreClinOmics will become “PreClinOmics, a Crown Bioscience company.”
Looking forward
According to Wang, in recent years, the company has witnessed the development and approval of new, long-acting glucose-lowering medications capable of stimulating the release of insulin or preventing the secretion of glucagon to treat type 2 diabetes.
“Still, concerns remain around the cardiovascular safety of some of these newly developed drugs,” he added. “Moreover, the lack of relevant in vivo models available to investigate the efficacy of new compounds for the treatment of some of the complications associated with obesity and diabetes, such as NASH, has significantly hindered the development of new drugs.”
Moving forward, the company plans on continuing to develop and validate improved models for NASH, diabetic nephropathy, and retinopathy, as well as cardiovascular disease models “to contribute to a better understanding of the disease with all its complications and provide validated, reliable in vivo models for compounds testing,” said Wang.