How We Can Support the Drug Development Pipeline

Biobank Resource

Rapidly changing technologies in the wake of the Human Genome Project and other high throughput biotechnology developments has highlighted the need for well characterised high grade human biomaterials linked with associated clinical and treatment outcome information. Our Biomaterials Resource has been established to provide support for research conducted by the biotech/pharmaceutical industry for the study of cancer biology and treatment development as well as new drug discovery.

In accordance with our mission statement below, the primary purpose of this new venture is to facilitate the collection, storage and analysis of ethically gathered human biomaterials. The Biomaterials Resource offers its clients rapid and flexible access to a plethora of ethically sourced human biomaterials with full donor consent. All human tissue samples are obtained through partnership with medical intermediaries, hospitals and tissue banks.

"To provide our clients with comprehensive human tissue based cellular pathology services to support better drug discovery and development."

Products Overview

The Biomaterials Resource provides a range of human tissue samples and Pathscreen biomaterials products from normal, benign and specific disease stages. Formats include cryogenic and paraffin embedded blocks and sections as well as cryo and paraffin tissue microarray preparations. Samples for protein target validation studies are orientated onto cork discs prior to snap freezing. We also supply a limited range of total RNA and genomic DNA.

Many of our human tissue samples and biomaterials products are used for gene analysis applications including cDNA library construction, northern blot analysis, and RT-PCR. This is in addition to control tissues, Monoclonal Antibody Human Tissue Cross-Reactivity Studies and many other research activities which are established as recommended by regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

All cryogenic samples are snap frozen in supercooled iso-pentane and stored at -80C with minimal delay to ensure optimal preservation. However, tissue can be processed according to your requirements. Please contact us to discuss the details.

• Tissues are harvested from surgical specimens wherever possible and suitable post mortem cadavers (via our Tissue Donation after Death programme).
• Full anonymised documentation e.g. sex, age, clinical and drug history is supplied as recommended by the FDA. Specific clinical information may be made available on request.
• All tissue is quality controlled and a pathologists report is supplied as standard.
• Transport of tissues is provided by dedicated in-house couriers or an overnight courier service with next day delivery (up to two days for international shipments) which will be additionally charged.
• Frozen tissues will be transported on dry ice/solid carbon dioxide in high quality insulated transport boxes.
• All tissue samples are collected with the informed consent of the donor or the next of kin in the case of cadaveric donors.
• All supply of tissues and biomaterials products will be in accordance with our Biomaterials Transfer Agreement.
• Tissues are priced on a per unit basis. Please contact us for prices.

Future information includes linkage with patient information systems, allowing correlation of tissue-specific molecular information with patient outcomes.

Biomaterials Products

• PathScreen normal and diseased tissue sections
• PathScreen pre-prepared multitissue sections
• PathScreen snap frozen characterised human tissue samples
• PathScreen tissue microarrays

Storage

Tissue/Biopsy samples and genomic extracts from clinical samples for trials which we support can be stored at our facility.

If you would require further information and would like to register with us, could you please contact biomaterials