Fast Results in Preclinical Bone Research
15 April 2008
Pharmatest Services Ltd, a Finnish pharmaceutical contract research organization, has developed novel in vitro human bone cell assays as research tools for pharmaceutical companies developing new therapies against osteoporosis and cancer-induced bone disease. These assays can be used to test vast amounts of new drug compounds for their effects on bone formation and bone resorption in vitro.
"Our bone cell assays are unique in a sense that they are based on the use of human bone cells (osteoclasts and osteoblasts). All similar previously commercially available models have either been performed in animals, or based on the use of rodent cells", says Pharmatest CEO and Scientific Director Dr. Jussi Halleen.
These unique models offered exclusively by Pharmatest have various advantages over the commonly used techniques. These in vitro models improve the early preclinical drug discovery research, when already the early efficacy research can be performed with human cells. Being in vitro models, they are also extremely fast and allow pharmaceutical companies to screen multiple drug candidates for most potential compounds quickly and effectively. This, in turn, translates into lower preclinical drug discovery costs and accelerated preclinical throughput. The use of human cells instead of animal cells also decreases the number of laboratory animals needed for preclinical research.
"These in vitro models form the foundation of our mission, which is to provide our customers with everything they might need when it comes to preclinical bone biology. First we help them sift through large sets of compounds with the in vitro efficacy assays, and the most potential compounds are further tested in our disease animal models. Some of these models' results can even be used in drug approval process as such", adds Halleen and concludes "I think it's safe to say that we really are a one-stop-shop when it comes to bone biology."
