ATCC adds novel in vitro model to expanding portfolio

ATCC has released an in vitro model system for a key mechanism of invasion and metastasis in lung cancer as the company continues its efforts to provide drug discovery and development services.

According to the company, the model is part of the company’s effort to develop a portfolio of clinically relevant models and biomaterials for therapeutic discovery and development.

This is the first launch in a series of novel in vitro systems that employ state-of-the-art gene editing techniques to address specific disease and resistance mechanisms in cancer,” the company said in a press release.

The new model – ATCC CCL-185EMT – is a lung cancer EMT (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition) model built on the ATCC A549 lung cancer cell line.

According to the company, the model is a fluorescent reporter cell line, which enables researchers to track the cellular mechanisms relevant to cancer metastasis. It also allows researchers to evaluate the effects of potential anti-cancer drugs using high-throughput methods, ATCC said.

Expanding CRO services

ATCC signed a strategic agreement with the contract research organization (CRO) BioAgilytix in October 2016. The company told us at the time that it has recently launched an initiative to provide biological-based CRO services.

One of our strategic goals is to develop additional scientifically-relevant products and services, and key to that goal is the expansion of our custom biological-based contract research organization services and standards,” he said.