Translational Imaging Center to Speed Drug Development, Lower Costs

MPI Research, inviCRO, and 3D Imaging today formally announced the name of their new advanced imaging center being built at the MPI Research headquarters in Mattawan, Mich. A joint partnership by the three organizations, the Translational Imaging Center, is the first resource for the drug development community to combine molecular imaging, autoradiography, and animal modeling with an onsite cyclotron, vivarium, and advanced image analytics.

When completed in early spring, the Center will have the unique ability to efficiently translate preclinical data to clinical data, yielding critical insights capable of accelerating decisions, discoveries and innovation. As a result, drug developers will have access to imaging, radiochemistry, and informatics solutions to position their teams to make faster, better informed decisions regarding a drug candidate’s potential.

“Today we are pleased to officially announce the name of the Translational Imaging Center,” said MPI Research Chairman, President, and CEO William U. Parfet. “This Center underscores our commitment to help pioneer a new era of drug development. We have put together a facility and team capable of helping drug developers learn more about their compounds in a faster and more cost-effective way than ever before. We are helping ‘de-risk’ the testing process, accelerating decisions in a very powerful way.”

MPI Research, inviCRO, and 3D Imaging’s partnership on the development and operation of the Translational Imaging Center aims to address increasing demand from pharmaceutical and other Iife science companies for comprehensive imaging services in one location. The addition of the Translational Imaging Center would be contiguous with MPI Research’s current physical plant facility, which is the largest single-site preclinical/early clinical contract research organization (CRO) in the world.

“We wanted the name to be reflective of what we truly feel to be the foundation of the Imaging Center,” said Scott Haller, Director of the Translational Imaging Center. “Our multidisciplinary partnership and commitment to provision of data allowing for true translation to clinical development efforts beget the name – Translational Imaging Center. Our aim is to approach each project as a collaborative effort with our sponsors to help drive new therapeutics into the clinics as safely and as scientifically sound as contemporary paradigms, yet more rapidly and cost effectively.”

Sponsors will be able to enhance their decision-making process based on evaluating three primary criteria: exposure at the target site, binding to the pharmacological target, and expression of the intended pharmacology. When applied to early and mid-stage development, these imaging solutions answer key questions about drug candidates with just a handful of studies. For late-stage developers, molecular imaging in concert with other diagnostic processes in nonhuman primate models can define the best dosages for future clinical trials.

The Translational Imaging Center groundbreaking was held last September at the MPI Research global corporate headquarters and is set to open this spring. The cyclotron is slated for onsite arrival and assembly at the Translational Imaging Center in February, 2014.