The market for monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has grown in recent years, creating demand for services relating to their production and testing.
CIT, a contract research organisation (CRO) based in France, is now looking to capitalise on this market opportunity by launching a service that will test if a MAb binds to tissues other than the one it is targeting.
Roy Forster, CIT’s chief scientific officer, said: "This new development expands CIT's range of services in an area where there is a real demand, that of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.
“This addition to our wide-ranging catalog makes CIT even more attractive to sponsor companies from the biotech sector. It is also a further example of CIT's continuing science-driven investment in extending its services."
By using CIT’s tissue cross-reactivity (TCR) service biotechs will be able test for unwanted interactions and spot potential safety complications at an early stage.
TCR uses panels of human and animal tissues to establish which the MAbs interact with. The service is currently being used by a number of CIT’s clients, with results of a validation study expected to be shown in coming months.
CIT will be unveiling the service at the 48th Society of Toxicology meeting, which is being held in Baltimore, Maryland, US from the 15th to the 19th of March.
Further biotech expansion
The move to provide TCR services forms part of CIT’s broader expansion in biotech, which has seen the company extend its laboratories by 50 per cent in recent years.
CIT has been operational since 1969 providing services spanning toxicology, carcinogenicity, pharmacokinetics and safety pharmacology studies. With the rising prominence of biologics CIT has sought to equip itself to capture some of this market.