CRO

Reprocell and Medicines Discovery Catapult partner to speed drug development

The European branch of Japan’s Reprocell, which supports stem cell research and preclinical drug trials, is partnering with Medicines Discovery Catapult to focus on accelerating drug development for U.K. biotech firms.

As part of the deal, Reprocell will provide live human tissue that will be used to predict how drugs will behave in patients and whether those compounds have a good chance of success in clinical trials. Reprocell will have access to Medicines Discovery’s virtual research and development platforms.

Financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed.

“Ethically sourced human tissue samples are such an important resource for the prediction of efficacy and safety of novel drug compounds and are becoming increasingly important in the area of precision medicine,” Dr. Karen Bingham, Reprocell’s COO, said in a statement. “It’s crucial that the (National Health Service), industry and academia work together through collaborations such as Medicines Discovery Catapult in order to maximize use of this precious resource.”

Last year, Medicines Discovery announced a partnership with the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research to accelerate in vitro research models for new products as well as reduce the number of animals being used in research. It also partnered with AstraZeneca to develop the use of sound waves in mass spectrometry for drug discovery applications.