CrownBio announces the acquisition of Kinasia, an Indianapolis-based CRO

CrownBio science Inc. today announced the completion of acquisition of Kinasia, an Indianapolis-based contract service company specializing in protein expression and structural biology. Dr. Faming Zhang, Kinasia's co-founder and chief scientific officer, and Dr. Jean-Pierre Wery, Kinasia's Interim CEO, will join CrownBio's senior management team as President and vice president of Business development, respectively.

In commenting the acquisition, Kinasia's CSO, Dr. Faming Zhang, said, "As the leading protein expression service provider, Kinasia has been looking for partners in China to scale up our operation, so that we can provide much bigger service capacity to our customers and at very competitive cost. CrownBio is the leading biology CRO in China with lots of local operational experience. By working together, we can rapidly expand our service capability in China and deliver more value to our customers." CrownBio's CEO, Dr. Alex Wu, said, "Kinasia has a strong track record in protein expression and crystallization, which is a critical step for lead optimization, which is upstream of our current pharmacology service. By acquiring Kinasia, we have further strengthened our position as the leading oncology CRO, with the integrated service capability in cancer drug development, from lead-to-clinical efficacy."

CrownBio announces strategic alliance with Shanghai Tigermed Consulting Ltd.

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announced that it has established a formal strategic alliance with Shanghai Tigermed Consulting Ltd, a leading oncology clinical research organization (CRO) in China. In this agreement, Shanghai Tigermed will be the exclusive oncology clinical trial partner for CrownBio , whereas CrownBio will be the exclusive international representative for Tigermed, responsible for international promotion and business transaction of Tigermed's clinical service. By combining CrownBio's strength in preclinical oncology and Tigermed's strength in clinical oncology, the partners can now provide comprehensive service for new cancer drug development.

In commenting the strategic alliance, CrownBio CEO, Alex Wu, said, "Tigermed is the leading CRO in clinical oncology in China, whereas CrownBio is the leading preclinical oncology CRO. By combining our strength, we are now the only service provider capable of providing lead-to-market service for novel anti-cancer therapies. Furthermore, this alliance provides us access to Tigermed's extensive clinical trial network, which is very helpful for us to build up our translational research capability. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues at Tigermed."

Dr. Meng (Max) Yang joins CrownBio management team

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announced that Dr. Meng (Max) Yang has joined the management team. As senior director of cancer biology, Dr. Yang will be responsible for our cancer pharmacology service as well as new technology development. Prior to joining us, Dr. Yang was Principal scientist at Anticancer Inc., a San Diego based service company pioneered image based cancer animal models. Trained as a surgeon, Dr. Yang has published over 70 papers in the field of preclinical cancer animal model on peer reviewed journals.

In commenting the recruitment of Dr. Yang, CrownBio CSO, Dr. Yiyou Chen, Said, "It is a great pleasure to have Dr. Yang come on board. With his excellent academic track record in the field of tumor biology, Dr. Yang will further strengthen our leadership position as the premier service provider for oncology."

CrownBio announces new custom antibody services

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announces the addition of custom antibody service to its service portfolio.  The company has already built an experienced team which offers services in custom monoclonal and polyclonal antibody generation, production, purification, and characterization.  By leveraging on the low cost structure in China, CrownBio expects to offer high quality service at a fraction of the typical cost in western countries.

In commenting the recent progress, CrownBio CEO, Alex Wu, said, “Despite of the advance in human genome research, antibodies are only available for a limited number of proteins. The high cost associated with antibody production has so far impeded the progression of proteomics research.  With our large experiment capacity and leading expertise in cell biology and in vivo biology, we can facilitate research in proteomics, biomarker, and other important biological fields without significant increase in budget.”

CrownBio announces the validation of lung cancer models for pre-clinical oncology service

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announced the successful validation of two lung cancer models for pre-clinical testing of potential cancer drugs.  The cell lines used for the validation study were human A549 and NCI-H460 cells, which are widely used for pre-clinical evaluation of compounds that target human non-small cell lung cancer.  Along with previously established models in breast cancer, melanoma, and colon cancer, CrownBio can now cover a wide range of cancer types for its pre-clinical oncology service.

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announced that it has moved into its brand new research facility located in Changping, Beijing.  With its AAALAC-compliant animal facility, and adjacent lab space for molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry, the company is now well positioned to capitalize on the out-sourcing trend in the pharmaceutical industry. 

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announced that it is expanding into custom antibody service.  Several key personnel have been recruited to join the antibody service team, which will be further expanded in the future.  The company is now able to offer services in custom generation of monoclonal and polyclonal antibody.

Crown Bioscience Inc. today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Zhongguancun Scientific Park to add 40,000 sq ft new lab/office space located in Changping district, a suburb of Beijing.  The company expects to remodel the existing space to accommodate its growth needs.  The new facility will have a new state-of-the-art animal vivarium, compliant with AAALAC regulations, and new lab space for molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry.