No-danger development

Accurate decision-making is crucial when it comes to product development
and the risks involved can be huge. A new venture offers extensive research and testing facilities dedicated to minimising problems in preclinical drug discovery.

	The Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai offices in Chuansha Economic Park.

In December 2007, MPI Research and Shanghai Medicilon formed Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai as a joint venture to meet the expanding need for preclinical drug discovery global testing facilities with GLP expertise in biopharma.

With ever-increasing pressure to bring new and better medications to market, pharmaceutical and biotech companies must have accurate and timely decision-making when it comes to which products to advance in development. However, this can be a risky process. The goal of the new company is to minimise risks by maximising effective decision-making relative to drug candidate advancement.

Location advantages
Situated in Chuansha Economic Park, Shanghai, Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai has amalgamated the best of its parent companies to ensure top quality, on-time studies that remove the risks in making target-to-hit, hit-to-lead and lead-to-drugable candidate decisions. There there are several advantages to conducting certain preclinical studies in China:

• Worldwide experience the parent companies that provide the foundation for Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai are widely experienced, with teams of scientists that have conducted preclinical research for companies located worldwide and who have worked collaboratively to set the standard for the newly formed joint venture.
  
• Ample capacity and leading-edge technology with its Provantis™ operating system and high-tech facilities, the 50,000ft² research space offers state-of-the-art capacity, security and assurances of data integrity
• Regulatory familiarity: Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai offers top quality preclinical drug discovery and development studies in an Eastern facility that meets Western regulatory standards. By mid-2009, the company will be fully operational in terms of conducting FDA/IND enabling studies and will offer additional preclinical support services for submitting INDs and NDAs
  
• Western certification standards within the next 12 months, Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai will meet GLP standards and receive AAALAC accreditation. A multidisciplinary GLP advisory board, originating from the headquarters of MPI Research, has relocated to Shanghai to drive this effort
  
• Skilled scientific staff
  the diverse and knowledgeable professional scientific on-site advisory board, composed of talent from parent company MPI Research, has partnered with over 70 Shanghai Medicilon professionals who joined the newly formed organisation.

Streamlined process
With its team of nearly 200 scientific professionals, the latest technology and its problem-solving culture, Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai is an important link for its sponsors to ensure that their project milestones are met or even exceeded. For example, one sponsor used the joint venture for a comprehensive array and analysis of non-GLP preclinical research, then performed GLP testing
and IND submission through parent company MPI Research.

This streamlined process, which involved running all the preclinical research virtually under one roof, reduced risk, was cost-effective and kept the process moving smoothly. The sponsor moved two compounds into clinical testing within two years by using the integrated services offered by the joint venture and its parent company.

Eliminating the risk during the drug discovery and development process is an achievable phenomenon when companies combine their resources to offer an integrated, efficient research service. Medicilon/MPI Preclinical Research-Shanghai can remove the risk for drug candidates and transform the way pharmaceuticals and biologics are developed.