Preclinical contract research firm Crown Bioscience is teaming up with Japan-based CRO Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL) to promote Crown's services to SNBL's Japanese client base and extend SNBL’s service offering in the process.
Per the agreement, SNBL will be the exclusive representative for Crown in promoting the Santa Clara, CA-based CRO's translational science services, including what Crown says is the world’s largest collection of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Both companies, through the partnership, are also planning to investigate the potential to co-develop new models and services in the areas of oncology, diabetes, and nonhuman primate model development.
Crown says this move is a big deal for them, as SNBL offers them a large target audience with facilities across China, the U.S., and Cambodia in addition to Japan, plus Crown believes Japan itself has significant market potential. The firm points to its acquisition of U.K.-based CRO Precos last year as another example of how Crown has been expanding its footprint worldwide.
Crown's president Jean-Pierre Wery said in a statement that this is also the first time SNBL has agreed to represent an overseas company in this capacity. “Japan is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets, and there is great potential to help our clients working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to redefine translational research and establish groundbreaking therapeutics via our drug discovery solutions,” he added.