Cerebricon Increases Focus on Translational Aspects of Preclinical Drug Development: Imaging/MRI/MRS
03 August 2007
Cerebricon is investing significant resources into developing their already established imaging capability at their central laboratories in Kuopio, Finland. The inclusion of translational components in pre-clinical drug development efficacy studies is becoming of vital importance as companies seek to maximise the chances of success moving assets into clinical studies.
Clinically relevant imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) are ones that can be incorporated into a range of pre-clinical models of neurodegenerative diseases, thus significantly increasing their relevance to the human conditions.
Cerebricon has employed MRI and MRS techniques to maximise the amount and quality of data generated in a number of pre-clinical models relevant to some of the most devastating neurological diseases in man.
Specific examples of this work include employing MRI and MRS in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease, MRI has been utilised to assess cerebral blood volume following rodent traumatic brain injury and to identify inflammatory lesions in a rodent model of multiple sclerosis.
Four out of the five posters to be exhibited at this years Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego in November will focus on imaging in CNS disease models.
"Technologies that can provide strong translational aspects to pre-clinical efficacy studies have the potential to add tremendous value to the process of drug development. The continuing investment we are making in developing our imaging capabilities will help accelerate the development of therapies for debilitating neurological conditions and contribute to reducing attrition within the industry" said Cerebricon's CSO Dr Robert Grundy.
