SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Crown Bioscience, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown Bioscience International, has launched preclinical models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to help inform decision-making in preclinical drug development.
According to Crown Bioscience, a global drug discovery and development services company providing translational platforms to advance oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic disease research, these models mark the first of many the company plans to release as part of its commitment to serve autoimmune and inflammatory disease researchers. The mechanistically diverse models of RA and IBD have been scientifically designed to evoke the similar clinical features observed in humans suffering from these conditions, reportedly making them ideal systems for preclinical researchers developing IBD and RA therapeutics.
The IBD models include acute dextran sodium sulfate challenge and T cell transfer models of IBD. They develop symptoms indicative of IBD, including weight loss, colon shortening and an associated inflammation in the gut. RA models include collagen-induced arthritis and collagen antibody-induced arthritis models that develop the clinical features of arthritis, including swollen and inflamed joints.
“Millions of patients endure the pain and discomfort caused by RA and IBD,” noted Laurie Heilmann, senior vice president of global strategy, marketing and business development. She added that the team led by Joel Tocker, head of inflammation, has more than 40 years of drug discovery experience in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases “to help build ideal models that lead to therapeutic advancements.”
According to Jean Pierre Wery, Crown’s CEO, “CrownBio is excited to expand the unique advantages of our scientific technology platform into autoimmune and inflammatory disease research. We look forward to growing our therapeutic portfolio in this area and delivering valuable insights which drive new discoveries that bring drugs to market, achieving our mission of connecting science to patients.”
In other news, Crown Bioscience announced its results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2017, showing strong revenue and profit growth. Revenue grew by 33 percent to $18.9 million, while operating profit increased to $2.05 million after tax. Year-to-date revenue echoed the upward trend with 37-percent revenue growth over 2016 and $2.57 million after tax operating profit. For shareholders, Crown’s success translates to an exponential increase in earnings-per-share (EPS), delivering five times last year’s EPS, according to the company.
CrownBio also announced the appointment of Dr. Yangzhou Wang, one of the industry’s preeminent operational scientists, as senior vice president of global operations. In making the announcement, Wery said, “CrownBio is experiencing tremendous, sustained growth, which has led to the expansion to eight offices worldwide. With our sustained success, Dr. Wang’s outstanding scientific expertise and international experience will further strengthen our global operational excellence.”
Wang specializes in mergers and acquisitions, business integration and development and, as the vice president of international sales and business development at WuXi AppTec, he was instrumental in the global growth of the company’s preclinical and clinical testing businesses. Wang also spent a significant part of his career in academia, including serving as the manager at the Hewlett Packard Laboratories Advanced Studies Group and as an assistant professor at the Hauptman Woodward Medical Institute and the State University of New York at Buffalo.
“I am very excited to join CrownBio,” said Wang. “The impressive global reach and scientifically advanced preclinical oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic platform place it at the top of the industry and make it the world’s leading company for acceleration of drug discovery and development. I have long admired CrownBio’s growth, innovation and scientific advancements and am looking forward to the extraordinary work we are going to create together.”
Crown Bioscience also announced the appointment of Dr. Leon Hall as vice president of global scientific excellence. In his new role, Hall will be responsible for overseeing global research and development programs and advancing Crown Bioscience’s scientific excellence initiatives.
According to Wery: “Leon’s appointment reinforces Crown Bioscience’s dedication to innovation and commitment to providing the highest-quality therapeutic technology services. His extensive scientific and operational experience will serve Crown Bioscience well as we expand to meet the growing needs of preclinical research to the global biopharmaceutical market worldwide.”
“I am excited about contributing to the expansion of Crown Bioscience’s translational technology platform at a higher level,” said Hall. “I look forward to continuing Crown Bioscience’s commitment to quality and scientific integrity embedded throughout the global organization.”
Hall previously served as Crown Bioscience’s senior scientific director and led Crown Bioscience’s Global Scientific Excellence Initiative. He established the Global Quality Council as well as the Global Scientific Councils that govern Crown Bioscience’s research in oncology, immunology, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. He has over 15 years of preclinical rodent research experience and is considered an industry leader in the application of humanized mouse models in immunology and immuno-oncology.
