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Roche joins forces to innovate toxicity testing and to reduce animal experimentation

22 May 2009 - Roche opened the Joint Science & Technology Laboratory in Basel, where Roche Pharma scientists are using the innovative xCELLigence real-time Cell Analyzer system of Roche Diagnostics to investigate hepatic and cardiac toxicities in vitro. According to the company, this new technology will improve the predictive value of in vitro assessments of organ toxicity and help to reduce animal testing in toxicity research.
 
"New techniques such as Real-time cell analysis with the xCELLigence system will accelerate the ability to identify the toxic potential of a compound at an early stage of drug development, which supports also Roche´s 3Rs concept of Reducing, Refining, and Replacing animal experimentation,” stated Thomas Singer, Head of Global Non-Clinical Safety at Roche Pharma.
 
The non-invasive and label-free xCELLigence technology is based on measuring the impedance of cells: The variations in electrical resistance are caused by changes in numbers, adhesion or shape of the cells. The data from the xCELLigence real-time impedance measurement, combined with molecular profiling of the toxic effects of compounds on cardiomyocytes and hepatocytes, will be compared to conventional cell biology assays and molecular endpoints. Based on this platform, the goal is to develop new prediction methods for target organ toxicity in vitro and identify new cellular biomarkers for toxicity prediction.