Human tissues are extensively employed by pharmaceutical and academic researchers to identify and validate new biomarkers and drug discovery targets. Such tissues are also widely used to study the efficacy, reproducibility, and safety of experimental drug candidates against unmet clinical needs.

“This collaboration will open the door to further medical innovation and clinical trial development in Ohio”

The Ohio Clinical Trials Collaborative (OCTC) offers drug discovery and development investigators with access to well-annotated human tissue samples for medical research. More than 16,500 frozen samples are stored at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Tissue Resources Core facility located at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, the primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

“It’s exciting to be working with the Ohio Clinical Trials Collaborative on potential opportunities for business development where we can both provide human tissue samples for research and serve as a central biorepository,” states Robert Wyza, Director of Operations at the Human Tissue Procurement Facility and the Comprehensive Cancer Center Tissue Resources Core told Healthcare News.

“This collaboration will open the door to further medical innovation and clinical trial development in Ohio,” adds John R. Peterson, PhD, Global Business Development Director at the OCTC.

With more than 20 years’ experience, the OCTC collects samples in compliance with federal, state, and institutional policies. The OCTC has samples of more than 70 different tissues and organs, featuring customized sample sets by disease, tissue, or organ. Furthermore, the OCTC provides access to world-class translational science researchers.

In addition to these samples, the facility continuously collects samples on a prospective basis at a rate of approximately 6,000 samples per year.

“Providing the global pharma and biotech industry with access to novel human tissue samples is anticipated to speed the discovery and development of new therapeutics for unmet human diseases,” Peterson said.