Precision For Medicine Expands Advanced Tissue Profiling And Genomic Capabilities With New Houston Laboratory

Houston is one of seven global Precision specialty labs addressing the rising demand for rapid, comprehensive biomarker data to support the development of advanced therapies and diagnostics

Houston, TX /PRNewswire/ - Precision for Medicine, the first global biomarker-driven clinical research organization, today announced the expansion of its cell biology and genomics laboratory in Houston, Texas, proliferating the company's global biomarker capabilities and laboratory operations.

The custom-designed laboratory accommodates the growth in demand for advanced digital pathology and imaging capabilities, expertise in molecular sciences and a wide array of sequencing technologies. Precision excels at rapidly generating the comprehensive, high-quality biomarker data needed for the development of complex therapeutics and diagnostics programs. The new laboratory in Houston was purpose-built for speed and accuracy, with a design that integrates and optimizes tissue and blood sample processing workflows, manages large volumes of samples, and includes dedicated cleanrooms to support genomics.

"Our new state-of-the-art laboratory, combined with the deep knowledge of our scientists, gives an advantage to clients developing novel therapeutics and diagnostic products in oncology, liver disease, and skin diseases. We offer advanced capabilities in multiplex immunohistochemistry, histology, sequencing, and our proprietary liquid biopsy analysis, ApoStream," said Darren Davis, Ph.D., Senior Vice President at Precision for Medicine. "Additionally, our clients benefit from multiple, integrated technologies and a vast bank of biospecimens that enable the accelerated validation of assays at a CLIA level."

The expansion significantly increases the sample processing capacity of the laboratory. This provides value to researchers executing clinical trials, particularly those developing novel therapeutics and vaccines, where sample processing requires geographical proximity to the trial site and samples need to be processed within hours of collecting them from patients.

To support Precision's growing roster of clients developing diagnostic products, the facility has been specially equipped for processing samples utilizing next-generation multi-platform technologies. This service accelerates the validation of these products and helps shorten the time for regulatory approvals. The Houston site is part of Precision's redundant global laboratory network, enabling manufacturers to show further reproducibility of results through cross site validation, making Precision one of the few in the industry providing these advanced offerings. Leading diagnostic manufacturers are currently leveraging these capabilities in collaborations with Precision to accelerate their approvals.

"Our Houston facility greatly advances our support of innovators in need of next generation sequencing technologies – our global footprint ensures clients can benefit from Precision's expertise regardless of their location or the location of their investigational sites," said Chad Clark, President of Precision for Medicine. "These labs are an integral part of the transformational infrastructure of capabilities Precision has built to accelerate the development of complex therapies."

Additional expanded clinical research services at the Houston facility include:

• Expanded blood processing rooms
• Dedicated dark rooms for multiplex IHC staining, imaging, and flow cytometry
• Histotechnology capabilities
• Digital Pathology with artificial intelligence (AI)
• Dedicated clean rooms for genomics.
• CLIA compliant, BSL-2 Laboratory
• Controlled ambient storage capabilities, +4˚ C, -20˚ C, -80˚ C, LN2

About Precision for Medicine
Precision for Medicine is the first biomarker-driven clinical research services organization supporting life sciences companies in the use of biomarkers essential to targeting patient treatments more precisely and effectively. Precision applies novel biomarker approaches to clinical research that integrate clinical trial design and execution with deep scientific knowledge, laboratory expertise, and advanced data sciences. This convergence of trials, labs, and data sciences is driving faster clinical development and approval. Precision for Medicine is part of Precision Medicine Group, with 3,200 people in 40 locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. For more information, visit PrecisionForMedicine.com.