Crown Bioscience Announces Establishment of NASH Monitoring With its Translational Models

(SANTA CLARA, CALIF., DEC. 17, 2015) — Crown Bioscience, a global drug discovery and development services company that has the world’s largest collection of spontaneously diabetic translational models, is the first research company to establish an ultrasound diagnostic method with its translational model for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the most extreme form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is among the most common liver diseases in the western world.

“This innovative method allows for quick, low impact sonographic screening that enables us to actually see disease progression over time,” said Jean-Pierre Wery, Ph.D., president of Crown Bioscience. “We can now determine the efficacy of experimental compounds in treating NAFLD including NASH.”

Because this method is reliable and non-invasive, researchers can screen more frequently and efficiently. CrownBio is now able to screen hundreds of models without the need to wait for pathology results to come back. Researchers are also able to track NAFLD and NASH for months at a time without liver biopsies or other invasive measures.

“Our models mirror all aspects of human diabetes and similar syndromes,” said Jim Wang, M.D., senior vice president of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVMD) research at CrownBio. “This is a tremendous advantage when serving pharmaceutical companies working to eradicate cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, particularly NASH, through drug discovery.”

Moreover, researchers are working on establishing disease profiles for glucose, insulin, lipids, liver enzymes, inflammatory and liver biomarkers, to name a few. This improved diagnostic method and disease characterization in the most translatable models available is likely to accelerate the transition of new treatments to the clinic.

In line with its consistent research efforts in diabetes and dysmetabolism, the CVMD group at CrownBio has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals. To access these articles, visit http://www.crownbio.com/metabolic-disease/.

Crown Bioscience is a global drug discovery and development service company providing translational platforms to advance oncology and metabolic disease research. With an extensive portfolio of relevant models and predictive tools, Crown Bioscience enables clients to deliver superior clinical candidates. For more information, please visitwww.crownbio.com.