A Look at CDMO–Biotech Partnerships and Tackling Complex Technical Challenges (BIO 2024)

Editor's note: this interview was originally published on PharmTech.com.

Frontage Laboratories founder Song Li, PhD, currently the executive chairman, board of directors, at the company, first set up a testing laboratory in Thorofare, NJ, with a focus on analytical and bioanalytical testing that quickly established a reputation for expertise. That foundation of expertise seems to have stayed fairly well intact, and science—and scientists—driving projects forward appear to be the key selling point for this contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), which says of itself, “our scientific knowledge base, technical expertise and reputation for high quality services have been integral to our ability in turning our services into your solutions” (1). In speaking with the company’s staff at BIO 2024, Pharmaceutical Technology Group’s Chris Spivey discerned that the practical upshot for the company has been that Frontage Laboratories often attracts the more vexing or technically challenging projects, and as a result, the company’s teams are now well situated to deal with the more difficult of perplexing projects for which others may not be as well prepared. As an example of the company’s preparedness, it states on the resources section of its website that it uses a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based method, called the Frontage PGx NGS Test, to rapidly determine the genotype of 300+ genes involved in absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (2).

Talking with Spivey at BIO, Marianna Tcherpakov, PhD, director of Business Development, CMC Services, Frontage Laboratories, at BIO, outlined the general approach the company takes when working with clients. She emphasized that the company’s approach is always customizable and personalized to not only the science the client requires but also to their specific strengths and weaknesses as an organization. “We look at your project as our own product. We therefore offer fast delivery, fast responses to client questions, almost as if we are holding hands … Many come from smaller startups that need a lot of guidance. [This] can be technical, it might be regulatory, but it all relies on our very strong scientific base,” Tcherpakov said. “We are passionate about technology,” she added.

Many of the PhD staff at Frontage Laboratories have come from other companies in the industry, and Tcherpakov pointed out that these past experiences and learnings are often brough to bear on the current project challenge. “We understand how stressful it can be for the smaller biotech, and even middle-sized [biotechs], when you have a lot of deadlines. You have clinical trials submissions coming up, and you need to be on top of everything, and fast,” she said.

Touting their scientific backbone Frontage Laboratories advertises itself as “more than a CRO”, in that it is also a “full global pharmaceutical development organization. Frontage Laboratories offers a comprehensive suite of drug discovery and development services including chemistry, DMPK [drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics], preclinical safety/toxicology, and clinical trial services with strategic and regulatory support to effectively bring new lead candidates through the IND [investigational new drug] stage to Phase II” (3).

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BIO 2024 was held on June 3–6 in San Diego, Calif.

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References

1. Frontage Laboratories. Services & Solutions. frontagelab.com/services (accessed August 21, 2024).
2. Frontage Laboratories. Resource Library. frontagelab.com/resources/overview/ (accessed August 21, 2024).
3. Frontage Laboratories. About Frontage. frontagelab.com/about/company-overview/ (accessed August 21, 2024).

About the speaker

Marianna Tcherpakov, PhD, is the director of Business Development, CMC Services, at Frontage Laboratories. Image courtesy of Frontage Laboratories.