Article – Cerba Research Expands U.S. Immuno-Oncology Center Of Excellence To Strengthen Its Precision Medicine Offerings

Cerba Research established its United States presence as a leading clinical diagnostics and clinical laboratory services provider when it opened a New York facility 20 years ago. To further support our global client base, Cerba Research recently expanded this facility — now our U.S. Immuno-Oncology Center of Excellence — which allows us to provide even more comprehensive, integrated central lab services, specialty lab and biomarker solutions, and diagnostic services worldwide.

Over one weekend in July, with no loss in activity, Cerba Research U.S. moved into a 30% larger facility, giving the lab 35,000 more square feet than before. To make the best use of that space, the U.S. team brought in additional state-of-the-art equipment, expanded its testing, sample handling, and logistics areas, and welcomed additional scientific and operational experts.

“It’s a new space with a lot of light and a lot of color,” says Chief Operating Officer Nele Langenaken, who founded Cerba Research U.S. in 1999. “Overall, it provides a clean, inviting, positive environment, which helps improve efficiency and motivation among staff, as well as helps us attract and retain top scientific talent.”

Cerba Research U.S. will maintain its close partnership with Northwell Health, the largest laboratory in the region. With more than 75 pathologists and a lab that processes more than 30,000 tests per day, its support allows Cerba Research U.S. to manage rapid turnaround and large-volume requests.

That said, its expert scientists and state-of-the-art equipment make Cerba Research U.S. a first choice for precision medicine clinical trials. “The industry is moving from quantity to quality and from routine to specialized,” says Cerba Research Chief Executive Officer Mario Papillon. “Nele created an ideal environment for customized assay development and validation for R&D projects.”

The most exciting updates to Cerba Research U.S. include:

Triple the flow cytometry capacity. The expansion allowed Cerba Research U.S. to more than triple its complex flow cytometry capacity. Equipment additions include automated flow cytometers and full spectrum machines that demonstrate up to 40 colors.

“We not only expanded our capabilities, we also optimized the process and created space for a new level of excellence in flow cytometry,” says Langenaken.

Quadruple the PBMC capacity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are critical components of immunology, infectious disease, and oncology research. With the expansion, Cerba Research U.S. increased PBMC and cell isolation capacity to handle up to four times more sample volume than the previous location.

New histopathology immunohistochemistry (IHC) lab. For the first time, Cerba Research U.S. contains an in-house histopathology lab with tissue processing, cytology, and IHC solutions for biomarker discovery through to clinical validation. Our IHC capabilities include automated, multiplex, and specialized IHC.

Increased kit production. Cerba Research U.S. increased kit production by 40% in 2021 compared to this time last year. The expanded facility will allow it to expand that production even further.

Increased sample reception and storage. The expanded Cerba Research U.S. laboratory receives between 8,000 and 10,000 tubes per day. We expect that number to increase by 20 to 25% over the next few years. Additional storage capacity includes temperatures from ambient to -20°, and -80° C, with available liquid nitrogen, all centrally monitored by a temperature monitoring system.

An even stronger team. With the expanded facility comes an expanded team. Additional scientists and operational experts give the U.S. team the depth to handle even the most complex projects.

The expanded flow cytometry, PBMC, and IHC capabilities give the U.S. CoE an even broader global footprint with which to serve immuno-oncology clinical trials. The expansion complements CerbACT Asia, Cerba Research’s other immuno-oncology Center of Excellence, which offers cutting-edge technology in FCM, histopathology, IHC, and NGS sequencing from a purpose-built facility in Taiwan.

“We have a substantial team of flow cytometry scientists in the U.S., all with high international profiles,” says Papillon. “Combined with the clinical expertise of Northwell Health, our capabilities in North America are remarkable.”

As part of a network that includes seven offices and access to over 400 labs across five continents, you can be certain no matter how global your trial, Cerba Research has the capabilities and capacity to support your projects from early research through to commercialization.

Cerba Research, a strategic provider of diagnostic solutions, supports drug development by leveraging patient data and scientific insight to optimize R&D and commercialization globally. Providing early phase research, clinical development through central laboratory and diagnostic testing, assay and biomarker development and validation — through our global network of specialty laboratories. We partner with government agencies, non-government organizations, as well as pharma and biotech organizations to change the shape of clinical development, and advance healthcare.
Cerba Research is part of Cerba HealthCare, a leading player in medical diagnosis.