In Vivo Tumor Models

Keeping pace with industrial development and market demand, Medicilon's Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics Department boasts years of experience, and has established a complete animal model library based on verifications and practices for precise and efficient drug efficacy testing. The test subjects include non-human primates, dogs, rats/mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, and miniature pigs.

Instrument of in Vivo Tumor Model Platform

Medicilon boasts nearly 300 in vivo tumor evaluation models. At the same time, we are empowering innovative therapies to comprehensively evaluate and study immuno-oncology. We have completed model establishment and efficacy evaluation of immuno-therapies such as CAR-T, TCR-T, CAR-NK, oncolytic virus, antibody (monoclonal antibody, double antibody, polyclonal antibody, etc.), siRNA, AAV.

It is well known that animal cancer models play a pivotal role in the study of the etiology and pathogenesis of cancer and the evaluation of treatments. In the absence of specific reasons, mice are the model animal of choice for replicating animal models of human disease and studying gene function. The mouse cancer model is currently the most commonly used, advanced and recognized preclinical anti-tumor drug effect evaluation system. In this paper, the preclinical selection and challenges of the most commonly used mouse cancer models are described, and the application prospects of emerging cancer models are briefly described, so as to provide a reference for rational evaluation of drug efficacy in preclinical settings.

By selecting a reasonable in vivo model, the positive efficacy data obtained from the preclinical study have a good correlation with the clinical efficacy of the drug. The overall judgment of the validity of the in vivo model mainly considers three aspects. The first is the apparent validity, which refers to the apparent similarity between the in vivo model and the simulated disease symptoms; the second is the theoretical validity, which mainly considers the model. Whether the construction of the model has passed a good theoretical basis; the third is to predict the effectiveness, which requires that the model can provide evidence for the prediction of clinical efficacy. Obviously, being able to predict clinical efficacy is the most important basis for judging whether the model is effective. Among them, predictive validity is the most critical.

The important role of preclinical mouse models extends from the initial drug development, target screening, evaluation of anti-tumor function, to clinical trials of drugs. Classical in vivo models play an important role in the drug discovery phase, which ensures the pharmacological properties and activities of molecules in biological systems. Once drug candidates have been screened, more sophisticated preclinical models are critical. Once efficacy has been demonstrated, the mechanism is clear, and the target has been validated preclinically, studies in complex models should be undertaken. The efficacy of the drug against the primary tumor can be determined from the patient's xenografted solid tumor. Humanized animal models simulate the human immune system to investigate the immunotherapeutic effects of drugs.

In Vivo Tumor Model

PDX model

Patient-Derived Tumor Xenograft Model (PDX): This model is established by directly transplanting the patient's tumor tissue into immunodeficient mice. The characteristics of most primary tumors in histopathology, molecular biology and gene level, ensuring relatively reliable predictions of clinical efficacy. Therefore, the platform is widely used in the development of new drugs, especially in the selection of patients in clinical trials of target drugs and the study of predictive biomarkers.

Transgenic Models

We can provide various effective in vivo transgenic models to test the effectiveness of drugs according to our clients’ requirements. Typical orthotopic diseases include hPD-1 and hCTLA4, with mice, rats and hamsters as test subjects.

Humanized Mouse Models

Humanized mice can easily simulate the biological characteristics of human beings. They are very important for the establishment of preclinical pharmacodynamic evaluation models, and can provide suitable pharmacodynamic models for testing biotechnology drugs such as antibodies or antibody drug conjugates (ADCs).

Syngeneic Mouse Models

The syngeneic mouse model tests the ability of model animals to fight cancer with their perfect immune system, as well as the therapeutic effects of immunotherapy. We can provide various in vivo syngeneic models to test the effectiveness of drugs according to our clients’ requirements. Typical orthotopic diseases include breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, kidney cancer, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), etc., with mice, rats and hamsters as test subjects.

Orthotopic Cancer Models

The orthotopic cancer model considers the interaction between tumor cells and their surrounding interstitial organ microenvironment and monitors tumor growth in drug efficacy evaluation. We can break down the barriers of experiment and technology with mature orthotopic transplantation models, including brain orthotopic transplantation, liver orthotopic transplantation, lung orthotopic transplantation, tibial bone marrow cavity orthotopic transplantation, and intravesical orthotopic transplantation.

Xenograft Models

We can provide various xenograft models to test the effectiveness of drugs according to our clients’ requirements. Typical orthotopic diseases include head and neck cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer, with mice, rats and hamsters as test subjects. We are committed to providing clients with mature orthotopic models for evaluating the in vivo efficacy of ADC, completing the modeling and feeding of model animals in an AAALAC-accredited environment, and relevant pharmacodynamic evaluation experiments standards of a GLP level.