Dijon, France – 16th September, 2026 – Oncodesign Services and Nexus BioQuest have formed a partnership connecting their respective in vitro and in vivo expertise, giving biotech companies a clearer route to specialist support as preclinical programs progress.

The collaboration links Nexus BioQuest’s human-relevant in vitro expertise with Oncodesign Services’ three decades of experience in in vivo pharmacology. With shared experience across oncology, inflammation and autoimmunity, the two companies will be able to contribute complementary scientific approaches within individual development programs.

The partnership is intended to give biotech companies, particularly those with compact internal teams, access to specialist capabilities from either organization as their scientific requirements evolve. Where appropriate, clients can involve both teams in discussions around preclinical study requirements, while retaining the flexibility to select the studies and providers relevant to their program.

Nexus BioQuest brings expertise in human primary cell-based immunology, combining translational 2D and 3D models that integrate immune cells and relevant tissue targets with validated and bespoke assay development across immuno-oncology, inflammation and autoimmunity. Oncodesign Services' capabilities include syngeneic, patient-derived xenograft (PDX), cell-derived xenograft (CDX) and humanized immune system in vivo models, inflammatory disease models, radiopharmaceuticals, and preclinical imaging. These complementary capabilities give biotech teams access to different types of preclinical evidence to support informed decision-making as their scientific requirements evolve.

Endometriosis is a proof-of-concept for this joint approach and an emerging therapeutic area for immune targeting drugs within the broader women's health and inflammation space. As endometriosis is a highly complex, multifactorial disease, this is an area where Nexus BioQuest’s in vitro primary cell inflammatory models can be used to complement Oncodesign Services’ validated in vivo endometriosis models that can assess pathophysiological endpoints including lesion development, fibrosis and inflammatory responses.

Aidan Synnott, CEO at Oncodesign Services, said: “For biotech teams, the challenge is often not finding another CRO, but finding the right expertise for the scientific question they need to answer next.

“We know the Nexus BioQuest team and the quality of its science, which means we can make an introduction with confidence when a program needs capabilities outside of our specialist scope. The same applies in the other direction. For researchers, it provides a route to another specialist team without having to start that search from scratch. Our goal is to help minimize the uncertainty and risk that go hand-in-hand with limited funds and timelines.”

Both organizations emphasize close scientific collaboration with clients and adapting study approaches as new questions emerge during a program.

Will Parish, CEO at Nexus BioQuest, said: “Early drug discovery rarely comes down to a single experiment or model. There are points where you need to understand what is happening in a human-relevant in vitro system and others where an in vivo model can provide a different level of insight.

“Having access to trusted specialist expertise in both areas gives biotech teams a clearer route to the support they need at different points in preclinical development, helping them make more informed decisions about where to place their work.”

Recommendations made through the partnership will be based on the scientific requirements of each program and where partner organizations can bring the most relevant expertise, providing clients with informed choices and full control over which provider they engage and how their program is staged.

About Oncodesign Services:
Oncodesign Services is a preclinical CRO specialized in oncology, radiopharmaceuticals, and immune-mediated diseases. With recognized expertise in early-stage radiopharma programs, and leveraging advanced capabilities in in vivo pharmacology and preclinical imaging, the company generates robust efficacy and translational data to support confident progression towards the clinic.

About Nexus BioQuest

Nexus BioQuest is a preclinical immunology CRO delivering advanced in vitro services to

support the discovery and development of next generation immune therapeutics. The portfolio

addresses the increasing complexity of modern immunology programmes, combining cutting-

edge biology with predictive, human-relevant translational models to accelerate drug

development across immuno-oncology, oncology, autoimmunity and neuroinflammation.

Media Contact: Aranda Rahbarkouhi
ramarketing
aranda@ramarketingpr.com
+44 7807 009 347

Written by Dr Amy Francis, PhD (Senior Data Scientist)

I recently attended an event hosted by Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS) in partnership with NVIDIA, which focused on how Isambard-AI can accelerate startup innovation and help shape the UK's AI ecosystem. The talks covered everything from cutting-edge AI models and national AI infrastructure to the opportunities available for founders, researchers and businesses to build things that may not otherwise be possible.

The event took place in Bristol's brand-new digital innovation hub, located at the heart of the city's rapidly expanding enterprise campus. The venue itself reflected the level of investment and ambition driving Bristol's growth as a centre for technology and innovation. Surrounded by ongoing development and construction, it was hard not to notice the sense of momentum. Bristol is actively investing in its future and positioning itself as a key player in the UK's AI landscape.

The event began with an introduction to Isambard-AI, providing an overview of the scale of the project and the ambitions behind it. Despite being relatively new, adoption has grown quickly, and the team spoke openly about plans for continued expansion. It was clear that the vision extends beyond building a powerful supercomputer; there is a wider goal of creating the infrastructure needed to support AI research, innovation and commercial growth, while helping to keep Bristol at the forefront of developments in the field.

The team also had a core focus on sustainability. As AI continues to evolve, conversations increasingly centre on the energy demands associated with training and deploying large-scale models. It was therefore encouraging to see environmental considerations treated as a key design principle. Powered by NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips, Isambard-AI is ranked among the world's most energy-efficient supercomputers; using a closed-loop liquid cooling system designed to improve efficiency and reduce overall energy consumption.

We also heard how Isambard-AI now underpins the UK's £500 million *Sovereign AI initiative, highlighting the important role it is playing in the country's wider AI strategy.

*What do we mean by Sovereign AI?

Sovereign AI is a nation's ability to develop, deploy and govern AI technologies using infrastructure, data, talent and regulatory frameworks within its own jurisdiction. As AI becomes increasingly important to economic growth, public services and national security, many countries are recognising the importance of maintaining control over the technologies that will shape their future. Sovereign AI is about ensuring organisations can innovate using trusted infrastructure while retaining control over sensitive data and intellectual property, as well as national competitiveness. Alongside access to computing power, it also creates opportunities to benefit from local expertise, support networks, funding opportunities and regulatory alignment.

This led into a session from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which provided an overview of the AI Research Resource (AIRR). The session explained how startups, researchers and businesses can access government-backed compute resources and the application routes available to them. For many organisations, particularly early-stage startups, access to this level of infrastructure would normally be difficult or prohibitively expensive, so it was useful to better understand what support is available.

In many ways, accessibility became one of the key themes of the day. For AI startups, access to compute remains one of the biggest barriers to innovation. Training models, running experiments and validating ideas often requires significant investment, forcing founders to make difficult decisions about where to focus limited resources. Infrastructure such as Isambard-AI, together with initiatives like AIRR, helps lower this barrier by making world-class computing resources more accessible. This allows startups to test ideas faster, explore more ambitious projects and take calculated risks that might otherwise be out of reach, enabling founders to focus more of their time on experimentation, product development and finding market fit.

NVIDIA built on this theme by introducing its Inception programme, which is designed to support startups through access to technical expertise, training, networking opportunities and commercial guidance. It’s becoming increasingly clear that successful AI innovation requires more than just access to technology. Founders also need access to knowledge, partnerships and a community that can help them grow. Programmes like Inception, alongside initiatives such as AIRR and Isambard-AI, play an important role in creating this wider support ecosystem.

For me, one of the highlights of the event was hearing directly from the startups making use of this infrastructure. Their work covered a broad range of challenges, from energy optimisation and media creation to robotics, AI governance and model explainability.

We also heard from Cosine, who shared their work on Lumen, a UK-built frontier AI model designed for organisations operating in highly regulated and security-sensitive environments. Trained on Isambard-AI as part of the UK's Sovereign AI programme, the model aims to give organisations greater control over how AI systems are developed, deployed and governed.

A recurring theme throughout the day was the relationship between infrastructure and opportunity. Much of the discussion focused on the resources being made available through initiatives such as Isambard-AI, AIRR and NVIDIA Inception, but hearing from the startups helped bring that conversation to life. It provided examples of how these investments are being translated into products, research and commercial applications.

The event also reinforced the scale of ambition surrounding AI in the South West and across the UK. From government-led initiatives and national compute infrastructure to startup support programmes and frontier model development, there was a clear focus on creating the conditions needed for organisations to develop and deploy AI at scale. Additionally, there was a high level of coordination between the different stakeholders. Government, academia, industry and startups were all contributing conversations around how to make advanced AI capabilities more accessible and how to translate technical capability into economic and societal impact. As investments such as Isambard-AI continue to mature, it will be interesting to see how this translates into new companies, research breakthroughs and AI-driven products emerging from the region.

At Nexus BioQuest, we support studies designed to feed into regulatory submissions, including INDs and similar filings. These are not routine experimental programmes. They sit in a very specific space where scientific execution, documentation discipline, and data integrity all carry equal weight. In this context, success is not defined solely by whether a study generates data. It is defined by whether that data can be confidently used to support a decision; whether internal, strategic, or regulatory in nature. That distinction is subtle, but it fundamentally changes how studies need to be designed and delivered.

Over time, we have seen that the robustness of an IND-supporting study is rarely determined at the point of analysis or reporting. It is determined much earlier, in how the study is structured, documented, and how consistently decisions are recorded as the work progresses. This is why we place significant emphasis on study planning. For every IND-supporting programme, our scientific teams develop a detailed study plan that acts as a working framework throughout the project lifecycle. This is not a static document created at the outset and then archived. It is a live reference point that defines the scientific rationale, outlines experimental design, and establishes clear milestones for delivery. Just as importantly, it ensures alignment between internal teams and clients from the start. In complex studies, alignment drift is one of the most common sources of inefficiency; not because of poor science, but because expectations evolve in different directions over time. A structured study plan helps to minimise that risk by making the intended path explicit and transparent. However, even the most study plan relies on one critical factor: execution fidelity. This is where documentation becomes central.

At Nexus BioQuest, we use an electronic laboratory notebook system to capture experimental work in real time. This means that every step of the process is recorded as it happens, rather than reconstructed retrospectively. The distinction may sound operational, but in practice it has a significant impact on data quality and traceability. Real-time documentation reduces ambiguity. It ensures that observations are captured in context, that deviations are recorded when they occur, and that the rationale for any adjustments is preserved. In IND-supporting work, where studies may be reviewed months or even years after completion, this level of traceability is essential. It also strengthens internal consistency. When multiple scientists are contributing across different stages of a study, a shared, contemporaneous record prevents fragmentation of knowledge and reduces the reliance on informal handovers or memory-based interpretation. Quality assurance is embedded into this framework rather than applied at the end of it. While Nexus BioQuest does not operate under GLP, we have developed an internal quality system that reflects the expectations of regulatory-facing research. This system is supported by an RQA-certified QA Lead and is designed to be proactive rather than retrospective. In practice, this means audits and quality checks are performed at defined milestones throughout a study, rather than only at final review. This approach allows us to identify issues early, when they are still easy to correct, rather than after they have propagated through downstream analysis or reporting. It also changes the role of QA within the organisation. Instead of functioning purely as a final gatekeeper, QA becomes an active contributor to study integrity throughout the lifecycle. This shift is important in complex biological studies, where small inconsistencies can have disproportionate effects if left unaddressed.

The final output of this process is a report that is designed with its end use in mind from the outset. For IND-supporting work, a report is not simply a record of what was done. It is a structured scientific narrative that must allow external stakeholders to understand the methodology, assess the validity of the results, and interpret the conclusions in context. That requires clarity, consistency, and careful consideration of how data is presented. We focus on ensuring that reports are both scientifically rigorous and easy to navigate. Data presentation is structured to support interpretation rather than simply display output. Methods are described in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility, and conclusions are explicitly linked back to the data they are based on. This level of discipline in reporting is not an afterthought. It is a continuation of the same principles that underpin study design and execution.

Taken together, structured planning, real-time documentation, and embedded quality oversight create a framework that supports reliable, high-confidence data generation. However, there is a broader point that is often overlooked in discussions about IND-supporting research.

As programmes become more complex and timelines become more compressed, the limiting factor is rarely scientific capability. It is the ability to maintain coherence across the entire lifecycle of a study, from initial design through to final reporting, without loss of detail, context, or intent.

This is where the distinction between simply outsourcing experimental work and building a genuine scientific partnership becomes important. When you work with Nexus BioQuest, you are not just outsourcing experimental work. You are partnering with a team that understands what it takes to generate data that is ready for the next step - whether that is an internal decision point or a formal regulatory submission. And in this space, that distinction matters.

Written by Danielle Clark

The 11^th annual Immuno-Oncology 360° Summit took place in Boston this year, a first after being held in the New York City for the past eight years. A fitting move, as Boston continues to strengthen its position as a leading biotech hub. With a packed three day agenda, IO360 brought together experts from across the immuno-oncology space, with experts working in pre-clinical to clinical research, regulatory affairs, business development and finance.

The event highlighted the next wave of innovation in IO, from new emerging cancer immunotherapy data, as well as new tools that help accelerate therapeutic development. While IO remained the central focus, pipeline diversification was also discussed, reflecting how learnings from cancer immunotherapy development can be applied to autoimmunity therapeutics.  

Highlights from the event:

Crystal Mackall winning the Lifetime Achievement award, and delivering the keynote talk ‘Evolution and Future Directions in Cell Therapy – Overcoming Challenges and Pioneering Innovations’.

William Ho – Cell therapy for Autoimmunity/Be Biopharma. While the main focus of the conference was IO, Dr Ho gave a good overview of how IO companies are diversifying their pipelines to I&I.

Craig C. Suvannavejh, PhD – The Biotech Markets and IO Outlook. Amidst all the science, this specific talk gave good insight into the current state of the biotech market, as well as future considerations.

Key takeaways:

• Many experts voiced concern for the industry, citing widespread layoffs at CDC, NIH and FDA, and raising questions about how the reduced capacity at these agencies impact new drugs getting approved and to the patients.

• At the same time, many noted a rise in investment for companies developing immuno-oncology, expressing optimism for the future. The unmet medical need remains high – not only in cancer, but also across autoimmune and other complex disease. Significant advances are being made, from discovery of novel targets and MoAs, to innovative therapeutics, and technologies that accelerate drug development timelines – all of which contribute to more investor interest and momentum in the field.

• With IO being the topic, one area where all agreed was that combination strategies are the future. With efficacy of monotherapies being a concern, the combinational approach will hopefully be key.

IO360 was a productive, insightful and energising experience. It provided us the perfect opportunity to see where the field is heading and see the transition between early stage research and clinical execution. 

A huge thank you to The Conference Forum and IO360 for organising an insightful and well-run event. We look forward to attending again next year.

Neutrophils are the most abundant immune cell in human blood with around 10¹¹ new cells synthesised in the bone marrow each day. These cells are short-lived, packed with anti-microbial proteins and are first responders upon inflammatory insult. Upon activation, neutrophils utilise effector functions to destroy pathogens.

Neutrophils release anti-microbial proteins held in granules in a process called degranulation and can phagocytose pathogens in as little as 20 seconds. They can also mount a large oxidative burst via the NADPH oxidase (NOX2) complex, releasing reactive oxygen species to kill extracellular pathogens, and also those that have been phagocytosed. The final weapon in the neutrophil arsenal is release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) – web-like structures comprised of chromatin and antimicrobial proteins, released via a unique form of cell death called NETosis. These trap pathogens to prevent dissemination and expose them to high concentrations of antimicrobial proteins. Despite neutrophils being essential for host defence, dysregulated neutrophil responses can damage the host and drive inflammatory diseases, meaning targeting neutrophils could be of therapeutic benefit.

Neutrophils have been implicated in cancer progression and metastasis. For example, NETs have been shown to sequester circulating tumour cells and awaken dormant cancer cells, leading to metastases formation. Neutrophils can promote the premetastatic niche and neutrophil-deficient mice show reduced metastasis. They also drive Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) where NETs are a source of autoantigens and lead to vascular damage. SLE neutrophils also produce large amounts of type I interferons. Neutrophils have also been shown to play a detrimental role in atherosclerosis, where NETs aid in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and prime macrophages to release pro-inflammatory cytokines. Overall, the role of neutrophils in disease is becoming increasingly understood and targeting these cells with therapeutics at the site of inflammation could benefit patients in many inflammatory diseases.

Burn, G. L., Foti, A., Marsman, G., Patel, D. F., & Zychlinsky, A. (2021). The Neutrophil. Immunity, 54(7), 1377–1391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2021.06.006

Papayannopoulos V. (2018). Neutrophil extracellular traps in immunity and disease. Nature reviews. Immunology, 18(2), 134–147. https://doi.org/10.1038/nri.2017.105 Coffelt, S. B., Wellenstein, M. D., & de Visser, K. E. (2016). Neutrophils in cancer: neutral no more. Nature reviews. Cancer, 16(7), 431–446. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc.2016.52

Written by Will Gibbs

Integrity is one of our four core values at Nexus BioQuest. It drives our commitment to delivering accurate and fully traceable data that our clients can trust. Every process we follow—from study design to data reporting—adheres to ethical and scientific standards to ensure that our results are robust and reproducible. For us, integrity isn’t just about what we deliver; it’s about how we do it. 

Integrity also extends to our relationships. We believe in open, consistent communication and see ourselves as true partners in every study. From study kick-off to final reports, we keep our clients informed at every stage, making sure they feel confident in both the process and the outcomes and  allows us to build strong, lasting partnerships. This collaborative approach enables our clients to have confidence in the study process, knowing they are supported by a team of scientists striving to producing quality results.  

Beyond client relationships, integrity also means continuous improvement to the service we provide. Our teams regularly review our methods and processes, pushing ourselves to uphold the high scientific standards our clients expect. By holding ourselves accountable, we provide research that our clients can rely on time after time. 

We recently started a new scientific initiative with the super catchy name of "speed science" which does what it says on the tin- our scientists get 10 minutes to present an immunology topic of their choice, this can be a project they are working on, a paper or a technology. This was inspired by the 3-minute thesis concept. We've found speed science provides a good work out for the brain as the presenter needs to be clear, concise and focused with their messaging. Our aim with this initiative is to challenge and improve our science communication skills, to inspire curiosity and to increase the diversity of immunology knowledge within the team; working towards our company values of curiosity and drive. We look forward to sharing some of the topics the team have enjoyed discussing over the coming weeks and in the meantime we challenge you to give it a go and test your science communication skills! Rhiannon Jenkinson, CSO