AsianScientist (Apr. 23, 2015) – Shanghai LIDE Biotech Co. Ltd., a China registered company that focuses on translational medicine services, and Singapore-based Clearbridge Biomedics have established an exclusive partnership for the contracted research organization (CRO) market in China.
The two partners will jointly set up the LIDE-Clearbridge CRO CTC Hub to provide circulating tumor cell (CTC) processing services, the first of its kind in China. This facility will be part of LIDE’s existing 18,298 sq ft facility in Shanghai, and is already up and running.
The Hub leverages the ClearCell® FX1 system, an automated, label-free CTC isolation system. Developed by Clearbridge Biomedics, the ClearCell® FX is able to isolate intact and viable CTCs from a patient’s blood sample. CTCs are cells that have detached from the primary tumor and circulate in the patient’s bloodstream. They are extremely rare—a milliliter of blood contains a few CTCs mixed with billions of blood cells. CTCs play a significant role in metastasis of the cancer, as the ‘seeds’ for the spread and growth of new tumors.
“Most patients do not die from their primary tumor, but when the disease spreads to another organ. By better understanding how CTCs lead to the metastatic spread of this disease, we will be able to develop better ways to diagnose, treat and manage cancer,” said Mr. Johnson Chen, Managing Director and Founder of Clearbridge Biomedics.
The LIDE-Clearbridge CRO CTC Hub will target biotech and pharmaceutical companies, as well as hospitals, to help accelerate their therapeutic and drug discovery research. In addition to CTC processing services, the facility provides complementary downstream analysis services, including cell enumeration, immunohistochemistry testing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, cell culture, patient derived tumor xenograft (PDX) for drug sensitivity testing and genomic profiling using next generation sequencing.
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Source: Clearbridge BioMedics.
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