Welcome to Reading, UK

A year ago, we proudly welcomed Saretius into our organization - a trusted partner to biotech innovators since 2008. This acquisition has strengthened and expanded on our commitment to advancing therapies, offering state-of-the-art facilities, unparalleled excellence in animal welfare, dedicated formulation and surgical suites, and robust procedural capabilities.

Saretius’s impressive expertise spans 16 years in PK/PD, biomarker development, and pain and inflammation models, with novel platforms such as MoSeq and an expanding suite of validated preclinical studies. Boasting modern security practices; dedicated formulation and surgical suites; and multiple procedural rooms ready to run your studies with a level of expertise and excellence that ensures robust, reliable results and seamless project delivery.

Today, we are thrilled to have five labs, Saretius has become our Reading site, and we present a few powerful fortes from them:

• Biomarker and pre-screening compounds
• The challenges in treating Neuropathic Pain
• Early decision making with Pharmacokinetics (PK)

If you’re looking to enhance your decision making, expedite your funnel or save cost in your studies, these may provide meaningful scientific insight.

In Vivo-Driven Biomarker Assays

Reading is able to develop bespoke in vivo target-driven biomarker assays to screen the activity of compounds before progressing to complex disease models.

An example of one such assay is a peripheral mouse NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor assay, in which the selective inhibitor, MCC950 inhibits LPS/ATP-induced IL-1beta release in plasma and peritoneal lavage.

In a murine inflammation model, mice were challenged with LPS + ATP, resulting in increased IL-1beta in both plasma and peritoneal lavage. IL-1beta levels were quantified using ELISA. In this study, MCC950 - a potent and highly specific small-molecule inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome activation - robustly suppressed the LPS+ATP-driven IL-1beta response, reducing IL-1beta in both plasma and lavage.

Discover more about our NLRP3 capabilities

CCI (Chronic Constriction Injury) Model for Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain remains one of the most challenging conditions to treat and is often characterized by persistent hypersensitivity (hyperalgesia, allodynia). In preclinical research, peripheral nerve injury models help reproduce features relevant to post-traumatic and post-surgical neuropathic pain.

In the rat CCI model, loose ligatures are placed around the sciatic nerve to induce a reproducible peripheral neuropathy phenotype. Hypersensitivity develops over the following days and is quantified using standardised behavioural assays, enabling efficacy comparisons across candidate analgesics and, when needed, mechanism-of-action exploration.

Our CRO capabilities (CCI)

• Clear, robust study designs: fit-for-purpose controls (e.g., sham), ipsilateral/contralateral comparisons, and randomization/blinding options aligned to your requirements
• Flexible dosing paradigms: acute and/or repeat dosing, aligned with your test article profile and stage-gating questions
• Relevant endpoints: mechanical allodynia (Von Frey), thermal hyperalgesia, and cold sensitivity selected to match your MoA and desired readouts
• Actionable deliverables: raw data, summary figures, transparent statistical methods, and a complete final report

See all Neuropathic Pain services

Pharmacokinetics

Reading provides in vivo mouse and rat pharmacokinetic (PK) studies to generate datasets for lead optimisation and candidate progression decisions. Studies can include formulation support, early tolerability observations, and PK/PD characterisation to understand ADME and systemic exposure for dose selection and therapeutic window assessment. Available options include rat and mouse models, jugular vein cannulated and bile duct cannulated rat models, metabolic cage studies, with a range of dosing and sampling routes. Bioanalytical support is also available courtesy of our long-term partner.

Figure: Pharmacokinetic profile of a compound after administration to jugular vein cannulated rats at 0.5 mg/kg iv and 2.5 mg/mg po (mean + sem, n=3)

Explore PK/PD