- Breakthroughs In Gene Editing Allow For The Creation Of Superior Preclinical Oncology Models - Gene editing is getting a lot of attention in the oncology field for its potential in gene therapy, but this only scratches the surface of its potential applications. Hera is now using it to fight cancer through the creation of genetically engineered rat models for preclinical drug discovery. The rat has been the preferred model of toxicology and drug efficacy… Continue Reading >
- The OncoRat®: Hosting Valuable Tumor Xenograft Models That Are Difficult Or Impossible To Study Using In Vitro Or Mouse Models - One of the most widely used methods of modeling human tumor biology for preclinical research is the use of xenografts. Xenografts are generated by implanting human tumor cells under the skin or directly into the organ type of interest in immunocompromised rodents that will not reject the human tumor cells. Depending on the number of tumor cells injected and the… Continue Reading >
- Patient Derived Xenograft Studies From Wider Varieties Of Patient Sub-Populations Promise Improved Clinical Trial Selection And Design - Around 85% of preclinical drugs entering clinical trials in oncology never make it past Phase 1 because they fail to demonstrate sufficient efficacy due to testing in unselected patient populations 1-3. Many of these failed agents are targeted therapies, meaning that they target specific oncogenic driver mutations. However, not all tumors harbor the same, or even similar, driving mutations –… Continue Reading >
- OncoRat® PDX Models Highlighted In Drug Discovery News (DDN) Special Report On Cancer: Aiming For Avatars - While advances in in-vitro platforms have allowed researchers to better visually monitor a variety of aspects of tumor biology, a significant limitation of 3D cultured models for patient therapeutic monitoring or “patient avatars” is the lack of important components, such as the influence of surrounding tissues and potential cell-to-cell interactions, when studying cancer progression, treatment responses and outcomes. Patient derived… Continue Reading >
- Understanding Transporter-Mediated Drug-Drug Interactions Using Humanized Liver Mice - Pharmaceutical researchers and regulators are increasingly aware of the influence that transporters have on the pharmacokinetics of drugs. These transporter mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) can precipitate adverse reactions in patients and as a result, safety guidelines across the United States, Europe and Japan have been updated to require safety assessments of DDIs in large scale clinical trials of pharmaceuticals. Patient… Continue Reading >
- Using Patient Derived Xenografts To Improve Therapeutic Cancer Treatments - An increased understanding of human tumors has created a solid foundation for the creation of new anti-cancer treatments (many of which involve antineoplastic compounds). And while many of these newly conceived drug therapies show profound responses in preclinical trials, this has not translated into significant progress in the clinical setting. In fact, less than 5% of such treatments showed efficacy… Continue Reading >
- Humanized Immune-System SRG Rats™ & Mice For Immuno-Oncology - The SRG rat demonstrates robust immune-system humanization with peripheral blood mononuclear cells, the huPBMC-SRG rat™. First published in Hera's 2017 AACR-EORTC-NCI Molecular Targets poster Novel immunodeficient rat models offers a unique platform for drug efficacy studies in human tumor xenografts. Humanized SRG rats may have advantages in immuno-oncology, in particular for tumor models with low take-rates in mice. Hera is… Continue Reading >
- Humanized Mouse Models Advance Immunotherapeutic Strategies In Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes - A relatively common autoimmune disease, Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is still not well understood. It is known that T1D is caused by immune destruction of insulin-producing β cells and although it is widely believed that autoreactive T cells recognizing β cell antigens (eg. insulin) play a critical role in the disease onset and progression, researchers still have little direct evidence… Continue Reading >
- Humanized Mouse Models Advance Immunotherapeutic Strategies In Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes - A relatively common autoimmune disease, Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is still not well understood. It is known that T1D is caused by immune destruction of insulin-producing β cells and although it is widely believed that autoreactive T cells recognizing β cell antigens (eg. insulin) play a critical role in the disease onset and progression, researchers still have little direct evidence… Continue Reading >
- Humanized Mice Allow For Better Understanding Of Interactions Between VACV & Immune System - Cancer is responsible for approximately 8 million deaths worldwide, with new cancer cases expected to rise by more than 25% over the next two decades. This means that now, more than ever, researchers are looking for new, more effective cancer therapies to be used alone or in combination with more conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. One… Continue Reading >
InsightsHera Admin2022-01-13T09:32:40+00:00