Italian company developed a specialized screening platform for drug development. The device represents a reliable alternative to animal experimentation and offers a solid approach for in vitro personalized testing, allowing a better evaluation of compound’s action and overcoming limitations of the classical 2D assays. The company is offering its technological cooperation to possibile partners through commercial agreements with technical assistance.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models can provide physiologically relevant information compared with the traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures, generating interest in drug discovery to predict response to drugs and putative compounds, also utilizing a personalized approach. 
Several 3D cell culture technologies have been developed to better mimic in vivo complexity. However, simple and reproducible systems able to rapidly rebuild tissue ex-vivo in 3D are needed to overcome some limitations and offer novel possibilities. 
The Italian company is located in one of the most important biomedical district in Europe hosting more than 100 companies.
Through the 3D cell culturing solutions, the Company developed a novel-generation of miniaturized 3D bioreactor for rapid cell colonization in a 3D manner enabling an in-vitro real reconstruction of tissue complexity, in an in vivo-like microenvironment.
Currently, the company manufactures and sells a 3D cell culture bioreactor for research and preclinical investigations (hereafter the Product).
The Product is a ready to use, flat and handheld bioreactor, integrating scaffold for the establishment of 3D cell culture model that can be used for a large number of research applications and pre-clinical investigations in oncology. (NACE code M.72.11 and C26.5.1). 
The Product can really impact on the 3R rules (Reducing, Replacing, Refining) mainly for the reduction of the number of animals in the experimentation. With the positioning between the in vitro high throughput screening (HTS) and the in vivo models, a new 3V concept is introduced: in vitro - in VITVO - in vivo. In vitro HTS allows the evaluation of huge amounts of compounds; in VITVO the confirmation of the efficacy of selected compounds and the identification of the more effective doses, improves and speeds up the process. This can reduce the number of animals employed for the in vivo experimentation, potentially lowering the attrition rate in drug development. The product has been already used for pre-clinical development of an anti-cancer drug contributing to evaluate its action and efficacy and allowing the reduction of the number of animals employed in the experimentation for dose finding studies.
The product has a relevant potential application also in the field of immuno-oncology where rapid and reliable functional tests allowing prediction of patient response are still lacking. 
The versatility characterizing the Product may contributes to fill the gap between in silico hypothesis/in vitro results and in vivo settings with possible relevant role beside oncology field.
Based on The Company’s knowhow of 3D cell culturing technology, new scaffolds and devices for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) combined products are currently evaluated and embedded in the platform. These new solutions will be able to generate specialized screening platform applicable for the development of both new drugs and repurposed drugs in oncology and beyond.
The company is able to provide devices based on customer needs. 
The company is searching for research institute and pharma companies which are developing drugs and/or treatments and looking for novel platforms to test compounds in the in vitro pre-clinical phase. The company is also searching for CRO, CDMO and companies offering master service to test compounds in vitro.
The company offers a master service for the execution of customized experimental protocols.
The company is also available to co-operate for the development of specific novel applications besides oncology.
The company is also sending the product through commercial agreements with technical assistance to research labs and SMEs for the testing of innovative medicines without animal experimentation.

Most research regarding cancer biology and drug development is based on the use 2D cell cultures in vitro.
However, 2D cultures have many limitations led to the creation of models which are more closely able to mimic conditions in vivo. One such method is 3D. 
In the panorama of current available in vitro 3D model there are many possibilities with different degrees of complexity both in terms of the model itself and of its establishment. The development of the 3D model is often the goal of the research and this represent a relevant issue impacting on the applicability as well as on the standardization of the model itself, ultimately generating a delay in a routinely use of these advanced models in pre-clinical drug development.
The Product offers a specialized screening 3D platform, able to add some novel features in this panorama:
 a ready to use and standardized 3D platform
 a wieldy and transportable system
 a closed device allowing minimize contamination
 an easy establishment of complex model including tumor cells and accessory cells in a co-culture setting
 standardized and reproducible approach
 a new concept of 3V drug development path (in Vitro-in VITVO-in Vivo), aimed to lower the attrition rate 
the compliance with 3R rules (reduction/replacement/refinement in terms of alternative to animal models)
the development of personalized medicine approaches using patient derived cells
technical/scientific consultancy by R&D team in the development of customers applications
The Product represents a “specialized screening platform” applicable in the development of both new and repurposed anti-cancer drugs, enabling a better evaluation of compound’s action. 
Among existing 3D cell culture technologies, the Product offers a novel solution of scaffold-based bioreactor for a standardized and routinely use, able to overcome limitations of the classical 2D assays and leading to an effective and compelling use of 3D model in pre-clinical development

The Company is interested in partners developing medicinal products currently at pre-clinical stage of the lifecycle of the product and other companies applying repurposing strategy approach for the development of anti-cancer combination therapies.

Below, some details on the Partners sought:

Research Institutes
Biotech SME developing biological medicinal product for clinical / commercial purposes;
CGT division of pharmaceutical companies developing cell and gene therapy medicinal products for clinical purposes;
Hospitals / Institutions with internal research groups working on cell&gene therapy for pre-clinical and clinical purposes.
CRO for in vitro pre-clinical testing

The company is also sending the product through commercial agreements with technical assistance to research labs and SMEs for the testing of innovative medicines without animal experimentation.