Hubrecht Organoid Technology and CrownBio announce a strategic partnership

Utrecht, March 26, 2019 – Hubrecht Organoid Technology (HUB) and JSR Corporation the parent company, of Crown Bioscience, entered into a strategic partnership to provide preclinical oncology drug development and validation services using HUB Organoid Technology. As part of the agreement CrownBio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSR Corporation will expand its European presence by opening a new organoid-focused operational site in Utrecht, Netherlands.

The partnership brings together HUB’s leading organoid technology platform and CrownBio’s global reach and preclinical service expertise to create an unparalleled translational platform to accelerate drug development and validation. HUB and CrownBio will establish a collaborative research program to accelerate further development of organoid technology. By opening a new site in Utrecht, Netherlands, CrownBio will help to cement Utrecht’s position as the global center of organoid technology research.

In recent years, novel organoid technology has firmly established itself as a paradigm shifting technology in drug development. This collaboration allows HUB and CrownBio to meet increasing demand from the industry for clinically relevant preclinical models.

“We are delighted to increase access to HUB organoid technology for researchers worldwide through CrownBio’s global reach and preclinical service expertise,” said Dr. Robert Vries, Executive Director of HUB. “Our partnership with CrownBio equips the drug development community with powerful new translational tools to guide the creation of novel and improved treatments for cancer.”

“This agreement is a pivotal moment in our growth and the evolution of the company,” said Dr. Jean-Pierre Wery, CEO of CrownBio. “The partnership positions CrownBio at the forefront of global preclinical research.”

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HUB exploits the pioneering work of Prof. Hans Clevers, who discovered methods to grow stem cell-derived human ‘mini-organs’ (HUB Organoids). Organoid Technology enables the generation of in-vitro models of any epithelial disease from any patient. HUB Organoids mimic organ functionality and are considered to be a clinically relevant model for human diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis, oncology and toxicology. HUB Organoids perform as “Patients in the Lab” and allow a better understanding of tumor heterogeneity and drug response. HUB has established a “Living Biobank” that links patient-specific genetic and phenotypic information to pre-clinical drug discovery, compounds validation and clinical drug-responsiveness. As a drug development tool, HUB organoids can efficiently identify novel therapeutic targets, provide drug efficacy, safety and mechanistical data.

HUB offers licenses to its patented HUB Organoid Technology for drug-screening and access to Organoids in the HUB biobanks for pre-clinical drug discovery and validation. In addition, HUB is performing clinical studies to validate the technologies used as a companion diagnostic. More info at: http://www.hub4organoids.eu.

CrownBio is a global drug discovery and development solutions company providing translational platforms to advance oncology, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic disease research. With an
extensive portfolio of relevant models and predictive tools, CrownBio enables clients to deliver superior clinical candidates. For more information about CrownBio’s translational oncology platforms visit https://www.crownbio.com.

For further inquiry into this topic, please contact HUB’s Managing Director, Dr. Rob Vries ([email protected]) or HUB’s Head Business Development, Dr. Bahar Ramezanpour ([email protected])