Protea and InSphero collaborate on 3D preclinical imaging

Protea Biosciences based in West Virginia and Swiss biotech firm InSphero announced this week that the companies are combining their 3D technologies into one preclinical imaging platform and marketing them together.

Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization (LAESI) mass spectrometry from Protea is set to be used with InSphero’s 3D organotypic microtissues for drug discovery and efficacy studies.

"The understanding of disease and the development of new pharmaceuticals continues to be an enormous challenge, one that requires new technologies," said Protea CEO Stephen Turner. "We believe that InSphero's 3D microtissues deliver a new level of insight and predictability to the drug development process. We are honored to be working with InSphero's team of scientists and to have the opportunity to apply our LAESI direct molecular imaging technology to the analysis of their 3D microtissues."

The two-in-one platform provides a means of 3D molecular profiling of drug toxicity and distribution, pharmacokinetic information and tissue characterization.

Protea and InSphero will be jointly marketing the platform globally for biotechnology research.

"The LAESI technology increases the power of mass spectrometry, and is uniquely suited to meet the needs of researchers using our 3D microtissues,” said Jan Lichtenberg, PhD, CEO and co-founder of InSphero. “The ability to reconstruct the molecular profile of a tissue in three dimensions, including endogenous proteins, drugs, and compound metabolites, will facilitate a deeper characterization of 3D cell models, and open doors to novel applications that can further enhance their utility in drug discovery and development."