GenScript Announces Strategic Partnership With PharmaNest's Genesis Imaging Services (GIS) to Upgrade Its Fibrotic Disease Models Service

Piscataway, NJ , August 30, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​​ GenScript USA Inc., a leading biology research partner, today announced a strategic partnership with PharmaNest’s Genesis Imaging Services (GIS). The partnership upgrades the evaluation of drug effects from traditional histology to “Second Harmonic Generation stain-free fibrosis imaging and digital quantification” to facilitate pre-clinical anti-fibrosis drug discovery.

Fibrosis is becoming a leading cause of death in organ injuries among aging population, lacking safe and effective therapies with huge unmet medical needs.

"The partnership with PharmaNest's Genesis Imaging Services enriches GenScript's existing animal fibrotic disease models in liver, lung, and kidney, allowing us to offer cutting-edge services for the histological evaluation for pre-clinical anti-fibrosis drug discovery."

Dr. Chuan-Chu Chou, Senior VP of Discovery Biology, GenScript

“A major obstacle in fibrosis drug development is the heavy dependence on manual scoring of the effectiveness of fibrosis drug candidates. Thus, the results are subject to high variability and poor reproducibility,” said Dr. Chuan-Chu Chou, Senior VP of Discovery Biology, GenScript. “GIS’s Second Harmonic Generation (SHG), Two Photon Excitation (2PE) fluorescence digital imaging, subsequent image analysis, and automated fibrosis quantitation methods enrich GenScript’s existing animal fibrotic disease models in liver, lung, and kidney. SHG is a stain-free, label-free, and highly specific optical method for collagen imaging, allowing us to offer cutting-edge services for the histological evaluation for pre-clinical anti-fibrosis drug discovery.”

“GIS provides automated, label-free collagen imaging and quantification of fibrotic tissues. Our protocols have been developed and optimized for the mid-throughput Genesis200 Imaging System of our partner Histoindex (Singapore) and our workflow is compatible with standard FFPE or frozen section pathology slides. Once the tissues have been imaged, validated machine-learning algorithms are used to analyze the images and automatically quantify the fibrosis and collagen features at the fiber level, fibrosis network level and total tissue level,” said Dr. Mathieu Petitjean, CEO of PharmaNest, LLC. “For liver, lung and kidney, tissue segmentation algorithms can also describe the collagen features in meaningful tissue regions such as portal collagen, septal collagen, and fibrillar collagen, across several different animal models. The methods have an enormous potential to quantify fibrosis in other tissues such as skin, gastrointestinal tissues, heart, and muscle, also in oncology areas to study alignment patterns of collagen fibers and quantify the content of collagen in stroma. We are pleased that GIS will add value to GenScript’s leading fibrotic disease models, which have been validated with clinical-grade drugs and analyzed with comprehensive endpoints that mimic fibrotic disease in human.”     

GenScript Discovery Biology provides comprehensive solutions positioned to facilitate pharmaceutical companies’ pursuit of high R&D efficiency and value-based medicine. The one-stop solution for drug discovery services include antibody lead generation and optimization, cell line engineering, in vitro cell-based functional assays, and in vivo pharmacology including fibrosis and oncology models. For more information on GenScript Discovery Biology Services, click here.

About GenScript: GenScript is the world leader in gene synthesis and a peptide, protein, and antibody research partner for fundamental life science research, translational biomedical research, early stage biopharmaceutical development, and synthetic biology. Since its founding in 2002, GenScript has provided services and products to scientists in more than 100 countries worldwide. The company delivers biological research services encompassing gene synthesis and molecular biology, peptide synthesis, custom antibodies, protein expression, antibody and protein engineering, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology and industrial synthetic biology products. For more information, visit http://www.genscript.com/.

About Genesis Imaging Services (GIS): Genesis Imaging Services (GIS) is a joint venture between Histoindex Pte Ltd of Singapore and PharmaNest of Princeton, NJ, USA. GIS aims to provide services in the area of clinical and pre-clinical pharmaceutical development and gives access to a comprehensive range of breakthrough imaging tools. The initial focus is fibrosis imaging and quantification.  For more information, visit http://www.genesisimagingservices.com/.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements related to the earning and sales forecasts. These forward-looking statements are based upon GenScript’s current plans, assumptions, beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation: market condition, global stability, new technologies. The forward-looking statements made in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. GenScript expressly disclaims any duty, obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in GenScript’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

Corporate Contact: Dr. Kenneth Zhang, GenScript , Discovery Biology, [email protected]

Media Contacts:

Dr. Andrew Luan, GenScript , Discovery Biology, [email protected], 732.885.9188 ext. 270

Genesis Imaging Services:  Dr. Li Chen, [email protected]

Source: GenScript