CiToxLAB recently announced it has increased its inhalation test capabilities in North America and Europe. The demand for studies to assess the safety of pharmaceuticals and chemicals via inhalation is increasing in Europe and North America with a relatively low number of facilities offering this service on both sides of the Atlantic.
CiToxLAB-North America has opened a new state-of-the-art rodent and non-rodent inhalation facility following demand from clients, adding the ability to evaluate pharmaceuticals, biological compounds, and inhalation devices. For pharmaceutical companies, inhalation tests are required for a range of drugs, including those intended to treat allergy, asthma, or COPD patients. For chemical companies, there is a need to test the consequences of inhaling chemical products, especially within the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals) program.
The studies conducted in CiToxLAB-North America will utilize seven rodent suites and five non-rodent suites, and the facility is able to perform studies by the inhalation route in all species, including NHPs, enabling the CiToxLAB group to conduct work not currently performed in Europe. In CiToxLAB-North America, the Canadian team is composed of staff with over 25 years of cumulative experience in exposure of multiple animal species to single or repeated nose-only and oro-nasal exposure routes in liquids, powders, vapors, and metered dose inhalers.
In Europe, CiToxLAB-Hungary is equipped with three rodent suites and one non-rodent suite and is currently doubling its rodent capacity in response to an increased demand, with the new area to be fully operational by the end of the second quarter 2012. The site has run over 200 GLP inhalation studies in the past 5 years and has been conducting inhalation studies since 2000. The studies are conducted by a team of scientists and technicians with a combined 80 years of experience.
The inhalation teams at CiToxLAB-Hungary and North America are supported by veterinary pathologists qualified to DVM level and experienced in inhalation studies, with board certified pathologists in North America. Both sites have a full range of support services, including analytical capabilities, and CiToxLAB-North America also has an on-site bioanalytical team working alongside the inhalation staff.
“We are now able to offer this type of inhalation testing on both sides of the Atlantic and at favorable prices when compared to our competitors,” said Jean-François Le Bigot, CEO of CiToxLAB. “In 2008, the inhalation department and senior management in Hungary were completely changed, with the addition of industry veterans with significant experience gained in the UK and North America. The services offered via the inhalation route in the Hungarian and North American facilities are complementary with the expertise provided by the other facilities, including CiToxLAB-France and CiToxLAB-Scantox in Denmark, which directly highlights the benefits of our acquisition of LAB Research last year.”
The CiToxLAB Group offers a comprehensive range of preclinical services to meet the needs of pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology companies worldwide. CiToxLAB carries out studies in general and reproductive toxicology, carcinogenicity, bioanalysis, immunology, and safety pharmacology. For more information, visit http://www.citoxlab.com.
