Central Lab Capabilities
Anatomic pathology
Molecular anatomic pathology and specialty testing for drug discovery, companion diagnostics (CDx) and in vitro diagnostics (IVD) validation studies to support oncology. Our central lab has a broad range of capabilities in anatomic pathology supported by immunohistochemistry (IHC), chromogenic in situ hybridization, and molecular studies. Additionally, we work with specialized partners to complement and extend our service offering. Multispecialty pathologists have been chosen based upon their technical expertise to cover virtually all major therapeutic areas. Specimens are digitized and are available to pathologists in real time via a secure web-based portal. We provide sample interpretive reporting, customized to meet client requirements.
Our anatomic pathology service offering includes:
- Histological services
- Grossing, embedding and microtomy
- Hematoylin and Eosin (H&E), special stains and IHC stains
- Digitization of prepared specimens
- Sample interpretive reporting customized to meet customer requirements
Key instrumentation platform categories:
Grossing and processing
- Sakura Tissue-Tek® Cassette Printer
- Mopec® Grossing Hood
- Leica® ASP300S Tissue processor
- Leica® Pegasus Tissue processor
- Leica® ASP6025S Tissue processor (SG)
Trimming and embedding
- Thermo Scientific™ HistoStar™ Embedding Workstation
- Premiere® Wax Trimmer XH-90
Cytology processing and staining
- Hologic ThinPrep 5000 Processor
- Eppendorf Centrifuge
Microtomy
- Leica® RM2245 Microtome
- Leica® Histocore Multicut Microtome
- Leica® RM2125 RTS Microtome
- Premier® Tissue Floating Bath
- Premier® Lighted Tissue Floating Bath
Multistaining (Leica® ST5020 Multistainer)
- Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) Stain
- Special stains: Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS), Alcian Blue-PAS, PAS-Diastase, Picro-Sirius Red (PSR), and Masson’s Trichrome
- Non-gynecological Papanicolaou (PAP) stain
Curl to vial microtomy & macrodissection
Digitization of prepared specimens
- Aperio® AT2 Digital pathology scanner
Autoimmune, inflammatory and allergy testing
In addition to specific IgE blood testing, PPD offers plasma protein determination utilizing the BN™ II System from Siemens Healthcare and Cobas from Roche. These systems use nephelometry to analyze plasma proteins and supports the clinical management of a variety of disease states such as inflammation, gammopathies, cardiovascular risk, rheumatoid diseases and others. PPD® Laboratory Services has been using the BN II System to provide IgA, IgE, IgG, and IgM detection and analysis for more than 10 years.
Some pharmaceutical development studies may also benefit from the analysis of interleukins (IL) as markers for immune response and inflammation. PPD Laboratory Services has validated ELISA assays for IL1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 12p70, 13, 17, 18, 21, 22 and 23. Most of these protocols are multiplex assays that can save time and control costs. We have more than eight years of experience developing and validating IL assays and can develop and validate custom assays for the ILs that are important to your study.
Our central lab service offering includes:
- Rheumatoid factor
- Free light chains
- Autoantibodies
- Antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
- Interleukins
- Interferon
- Serum IgE
- Complement
Key instrumentation
- Thermo Scientific Phadia® 1000
- Siemens Healthcare BN™ II
- DiaSorin Liaison XL
Biostorage
Sample stability and storage have become paramount, allowing companies to access previously collected samples for new and innovative compounds or to identify genetic markers.
PPD Laboratories keeps pace with the needs of the industry and offers:
- Biorepository services and sample management consulting
- On-site sample preparation to ensure sample integrity
- Liquid nitrogen storage (-190 degrees Celsius)
- -70 degrees Celsius storage in purpose-built freezer facility
- Cold storage (-20 to 5 degrees Celsius)
- Controlled room temperature (15 to 27 degrees Celsius)
- Specialty storage services for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)
Our standard biorepository services include:
- 24-hour security with limited staff access
- 24-hour worldwide remote monitoring capabilities
- Complete power backup system
- Complete access to sample data and specialized reports
