CrownBio Acquires Dutch CRO to Expand In Vitro Services Portfolio

On May 5th, Crown Bioscience (CrownBio), a leading CRO in the areas of drug discovery and biomarker discovery announced the acquisition of OcellO BV, a 10-year-old Dutch CRO. The financial details of the deal are still under wraps.

The buyout allows CrownBio, a major international supplier of tumor organoids to further broaden it’s in vitro services. The Santa Clara-based company intends to leverage its existing capabilities like in vitro and in vivo screens and immunotherapy assessment services with OcellO’s expertise in high content imaging.

OcellO’s 3D Cell Culture Imaging Platform

OcellO is a leading provider of 3D human organoid models of cancer, inflammation, and polycystic kidney disease. Its robust platform combines automated 3D cell culture technology with high content 3D imaging and analysis, enabling scalability without compromising on biological complexity. The acquisition will now put CrownBio as the sole licensed provider of the specialized Hubrecht Organoid Technology (HUB) globally.

“CrownBio and OcellO believe that the key to improving clinical research success is to utilize more patient-relevant models and assays that can generate reliable efficacy data as early as possible in the drug development process,” said Armin Spura, Ph.D., CEO of CrownBio.

“This acquisition brings together the complementary strengths of our two companies, enhancing our in vitro services portfolio and offering customers the ability to better evaluate multiple drug combinations and targets, across a wider range of tumor and cancer types, with improved predictability and clinical relevance moving from in vitro to in vivo phases of drug discovery.”

As per the terms, Dr. Leo Price, CEO, and CTO of OcellO will join CrownBio as Senior Vice President, In Vitro, oversee the in vitro business in the US and Europe.

“I am delighted to join CrownBio and help grow the company’s in vitro portfolio,” said Dr. Price. “We will continue our shared heritage of innovation and dedication to customer service to serve complex needs in early-stage cancer drug development. Our combined expertise is particularly suited for disease-relevant large-scale screening, allowing our customers to evaluate multiple drug combinations in a rapid, scientifically rigorous, and cost-effective way.” he added.

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Author

Rajaneesh K. Gopinath