NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – UK biotech Epistem said today its Biomarker Division has received Good Clinical Laboratory Practice accreditation status.
The company said in a statement that the accreditation allows it to support later phases of drug development, and that all studies will be conducted to meet GCLP standards established by the British Association of Research Quality Assurance.
The Biomarker Division conducts gene expression analysis for pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms aimed at new drug development. An increasing focus of the division is providing biomarkers for the development of new companion diagnostics, Epistem said.
Based in Manchester, UK, Epistem has developed a proprietary cDNA amplification technique which enables researchers to get gene expression information from very small and degraded amounts biological samples. The company also has "off-the-shelf" biomarkers targeting known cancer and disease-specific biological pathways.