NSA opening lab as demand grows
The growth in demand is a consequence of the economic downturn, according to Bob Switzer, founder and president of NSA.
He believes that the economic difficulties facing pharma companies “is creating unfortunate bottlenecks and budget constraints” that have led to businesses “outsourcing all or part of their neurohistology needs”.
In addition neurological disorders are receiving increasing attention from pharma companies as they attempt to replenish pipelines. For instance, Alzheimer’s was an area Pfizer shifted its focus onto when it restructured its R&D priorities.
To cope with this with this growth in demand NSA is opening a new lab, which Switzer believes will enable the company “to keep R&D work on pace and below budget for our clients”.
NSA processes these clients’ samples using its MultiBrain technology. This technology can stain 1000s of sections simultaneously and eliminate many human environmental variables inherent in traditional techniques, according to NSA.
Furthermore, NSA claims MultiBrain is up to eight times less expensive than other methods. NSA states that these characteristics allow it to produce finished slides from the brains or spinal columns of test animals in as little as three weeks per project.
The technology works by embedding up to 25 rats’ brains, or up to eight entire spinal chords, in a gelatine block. This is then frozen, cut into sections, stained and mounted onto slides.
Using the technology NSA has supported research into aliments including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s, stroke and neurotoxicity.
