Oncology

By generating robust, predictive, and decision-ready data early, you can prioritize the right candidates, reduce attrition risk, and strengthen progression toward the clinic. Working as an extension of your team, our experienced scientists support smarter development decisions and accelerated timelines, helping your most promising therapies reach patients faster.

Cancer cells

Developing effective cancer therapeutics is inherently complex, requiring models that deliver meaningful, predictive insight early in development. Our oncology CRO services combine decades of scientific expertise with advanced in vitro platforms to help you navigate biological complexity, avoid common development pitfalls, and generate the robust data needed to progress your drug to market with confidence.

From established cancer cell lines to more physiologically relevant 3D systems and immune-competent models, we provide scalable solutions tailored to your target, modality, and program goals.

Our in vitro oncology assay capabilities include:

Cancer cell lines

Reliable, reproducible cellular models are essential for early screening and mechanistic understanding. While primary tumor cells can present sourcing and scalability challenges, established cancer cell lines provide consistent, high-throughput platforms to evaluate proliferation, phenotypic response, and toxicity.

We offer access to a diverse inventory of cancer cell lines and tissues, with the flexibility to source specific models through commercial partners when required, ensuring alignment with your scientific objectives and study design.

3D Spheroid models

Traditional 2D monocultures can underestimate IC50 values and not capture key aspects of tumor biology, contributing to downstream attrition risk. Transitioning to 3D cell culture systems provides you with greater physiological relevance, improved prediction of therapeutic response, and enhanced translational confidence.

Explore our established tumor spheroid models that span multiple cancer types, with options to incorporate stromal components such as cancer-associated fibroblasts to better reflect the tumor microenvironment and support more informed decision-making.

Technologies

Combining cutting-edge technologies with scientific expertise, we generate actionable insights that accelerate your oncology programs. Our platforms provide robust, high-resolution data to characterize drug activity, mechanism, and phenotypic response across both 2D and 3D models, helping you make confident development decisions early.

Live cell analysis

Track real-time morphological and phenotypic changes for pathway and mechanistic studies. Our live cell analysis platform enables continuous monitoring of proliferation, apoptosis, and migration in both 2D cultures and 3D spheroid models, providing dynamic, high-content data that informs candidate selection and optimization.

Transcriptomics underpins advanced cell characterization

Utilize our 2D and 3D model capabilities with bulk RNAseq, for in-depth lead compound characterization or drug repositioning programmes, or single-cell transcriptomics to resolve intratumor heterogeneity, mapping distinct malignant, immune, and stromal cell populations, to better understand complex tumor biology and strengthen translational predictions.

High-content imaging

Gain comprehensive insights into complex human biology through powerful 2D and 3D in vitro imaging-based assays on our high-throughput imaging platform, providing detailed phenotypic and functional data, enabling precise evaluation of drug effects and accelerating decision-making across oncology discovery programs. Read the blog: Advanced Drug Discovery: what you need to know about HCI (High Content Imaging)

Immunotherapy expertise

Leverage our immuno-oncology expertise to understand the immunomodulatory effect of your drug candidate within the tumour microenvironment.

• T cell checkpoint inhibition assays
• T cell exhaustion assays
• Macrophage reprogramming and suppression assays
• MDSC suppression assays
• Treg suppression assays
• NK and T cell killing assays
• 3D immune-oncology models

Support from concept to clinic

Our specialist immuno-oncology translational biology expertise is complemented by a wider offering across chemistry, ADMET, and GMP manufacturing services. Speak to our team to explore how we can help you bring your immunology therapeutic to the clinic.