Dr Hogrefe said the relaunched service provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms with labelled forms of candidate compounds for preclinical pharmacokinetic (PK) studies.
Hogrefe told Outsourcing-Pharma that: “Our focus is on tritium and sulfur isotopic labeling. We offered 14-C labeling in the past, but found that the cost of such labeling to be prohibitive for most clients.
“We can also help a client understand the basic principles behind the design of basic PK studies for oligonucleotides if they are new to the area” he continued, adding that can help lower the cost of PK studies.
Hogrefe explained that, initially, there had been a lukewarm response to its decision to wind up the radiolabelling service from clients, leading TriLink to halt the offering in May.
“However, as is typical, as soon as we announced the end of the service the ramification of this to some of our most valuable clients, such as Isis, hit home and we started to receive anxious phone calls.”
Another factor motivating the relaunch, according to Hogrefe, is the global downturn and its potential impact on rival radiolabelling contractors.
He suggested that: “As the world economy cycles through this recession some of the companies that prepare oligonucleotides may be forced to close their doors or continue to reduce services.
“TriLink is proud to say that we have continued to grow over this period and are stronger than ever. We will be here when you need us.”
Contract radiolabelling
While lower early R&D spending has had an impact on all companies involved in the early drug development process, including those offering contract radiolabelling, TriLink is not the only survivor of the downturn.
For example, UK company Quotient Bioresearch recently acquired Amersham Radiolabelling Services from GE Healthcare in response to what increasing industry demand for preclinical development services.
And, earlier this month in the US PerkinElmer opened a second manufacturing plant in Boston, Massachusetts to carry out custom radiosynthesis and labelling of drug compounds for pharma and biotech clients.
Additionally, a number of other contract services providers such as Covance and SCM Pharma offer dedicated fill and finish services for radiolabelled compounds.