Quotient Bioresearch and KWS BioTest, two UK-based providers of early-stage and other drug development services, have teamed up to offer co-ordinated “plate to patient” support for clients engaged in the discovery and development of new antimicrobial agents.
Under the partnership, announced at the 21st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Milan, Italy, Quotient and KWS can provide high-quality screening of anti-infectives from in vitro activity assays, efficacy testing and resistance profiling through to validated models of human disease, surveillance and clinical investigations, all with full scientific support, the companies said.
The agreement builds on a longstanding relationship between the two companies, which share a number of joint customers, they noted. The resulting synergies will enable Quotient and KWS to carry out larger integrated studies in the sector, with associated added value and efficiencies for their clients.
One of Quotient’s early acquisitions was GR Micro Ltd., which brought to the group more than 25 years’ experience in antimicrobial discovery and development. These operations, ranging from early discovery through to late-phase clinical trials and global resistance surveillance studies, are now conducted from state-of-the-art, purpose-built laboratories at Quotient’s site in Cambridgeshire.
KWS BioTest was set up in 2004 and offers a wide range of preclinical services from primary and secondary screening through to complex disease models in the fields of infection, inflammation, autoimmunity, allergy, pain and metabolic disease.
Quotient Clinical expansion
Quotient Clinical, the business unit of Quotient Bioresearch focused on streamlining the transition from first-in-human to proof-of-concept studies and on integrating flexible drug manufacturing into clinical trials, has completed a significant expansion of its clinical facilities in Nottingham, UK.
Bed capacity at the site has been increased by 50% and the facilities now incorporate a dedicated sample processing laboratory for human ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) studies, Quotient Clinical announced.
It said the expansion was in direct response to increasing customer adoption of Quotient’s Synthesis-to-Clinic platform, particularly in support of human ADME studies.
Synthesis-to-Clinic integrates all of the components needed for a 14C-enabled (i.e., radiolabelled) clinical trial into a single supply chain, from the synthesis of 14C labelled active pharmaceutical ingredients through to the clinical study report.
“In parallel with the recent expansion of our Pharmaceutical Sciences laboratory and GMP [Good Manufacturing Practice] drug product manufacturing facility, the completion of this clinical expansion is another milestone in the development of our business,” commented Mark Egerton, managing director of Quotient Clinical.
The unit was established in 2009 after Quotient Bioresearch took over an early-stage clinical research facility in Edinburgh, Scotland from Charles River Laboratories. This facility was consolidated with Pharmaceutical Profiles, a Nottingham, UK provider of specialist Phase I drug development services acquired by Quotient in December 2008.
