Oncodesign,a CRO  specializing in discovery of new anticancer therapies, and Banook Central Imaging, specializing in the centralized reading of medical images, have partnered to expand the use of new approaches in pharmaco-imaging.

During the three-year partnership, the companies expect to share experience, co-promote joint activities and jointly engage in scientific collaboration to standardize image acquisition and analysis protocols in early clinical phases. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Medical imaging procedures (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computed tomography and ultrasound imaging) have become indispensable tools in early-stage development of anticancer compounds, providing information about the disease and the effects of molecules helps identify translational markers in preclinical and clinical phases.

The partnership breaks new ground in the evaluation of anticancer therapies by helping to guide a compound from research laboratory to patient through the pursuit of greater consistency in the imaging protocols used during the development cycle, in accordance with good clinical practice. First results are expected by early 2014.