MPI Research, Invicro and 3D Imaging broke ground Sept. 6 on a 10,000-square-foot, two-story imaging center in Mattawan.
The collaboration between the three companies came together after they had worked on more than 100 imaging projects with one another.
The new building will be open by the second quarter of 2014. Many of the services, including nonhuman primate PET and CT imaging capabilities, however, became available in July 2013.
"Together with our partners, MPI Research and INVICRO, we are creating a total translational imaging tool," says Marc Berridge, PhD, President, and Founder of 3D Imaging. "It will take drug development to the next level by providing biotech and pharmaceutical companies with key information that has never before been available."
MPI officials say that in the drug development business how rapidly one can determine if a drug candidate is effective is critical. This partnership brings not just speed, but also accuracy, breadth, and depth of skill to those determinations.
The imaging is available for all stages of development -- early, mid-stage, late stage and for post marketing studies. When applied to early and mid-stage development, these imaging solutions answer key questions about drug candidates with just a handful of studies. For late-stage developers, molecular imaging in concert with other diagnostic processes can define the best dosages for future clinical trials. Post-marketing studies for expanded indications and labeling claims can also be performed effectively and at potentially lower cost.
Reduced development costs, better candidate selection and accelerated regulatory approval as expected to be possible as a result of the new imaging service for contract research clients. The new molecular imaging center, located at MPI Research, will provide drug developers with access to the first commercially available cyclotron facility immediately next to animal research facilities housing species ranging from mice to nonhuman primates.
"It is also an important and highly visible reflection of how our community, our region, and the state of Michigan continue to move forward as leaders in the life sciences," says said MPI Research Chairman, President, and CEO William U. Parfet.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: MPI Research
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