Taconic, Cellaria partner to facilitate use of patient-derived xenografts for oncology research

Mar 27 2015

Taconic Biosciences and Cellaria Biosciences today announced that the two companies have entered into a scientific collaboration designed to facilitate and improve the utility of patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) in animal models for oncology and immuno-oncology research. Cellaria’s novel methodologies for generating cells from patient tumors will complement Taconic’s industry-leading portfolio of tissue humanized mouse models, which are well-suited as hosts for PDXs.

The value of using patient-derived tumors in oncology and immuno-oncology research has been well documented, but traditional methods of obtaining tumor cell material have proven labor-intensive and expensive, inhibiting researchers’ access to this material. Cellaria’s innovative approach to propagating tumor cell material and generating PDX banks significantly reduces the associated labor and costs, making patient-derived tumor models more accessible to investigators.

“Our scientific collaboration with Cellaria is a prime example of Taconic continually pushing the boundaries of technology to improve the utility of humanized animal models in biomedical research,” said Todd Little, president of Corporate Development, Taconic Biosciences. “By collaborating with a company that has achieved great success in generating cell lines from patient-derived tumors, Taconic will be able to deliver more predictive tissue humanized models that will improve and accelerate oncology research and drug discovery.”

Cellaria’s advanced technology facilitates the creation of PDX banks in a more controlled manner, supports more effective tumor engraftments on study animals, and enables harvesting sufficient tumor material for use in long-term and repeat studies. The companies’ initial collaborations will focus on the creation of breast cancer cell lines from PDX models for which Taconic holds licenses from the University of Utah.

“Taconic and Cellaria have a shared goal to create relevant tools for cancer,” said David Deems, chief executive officer, Cellaria. The new models created through this collaboration have enormous potential to better define target patient populations and evaluate the efficacy of new therapies.”