Instem, a leading provider of IT solutions to the global early development healthcare market, announced that the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) has committed to a further, major investment in Instem solutions to support growing demand for its services.

Established in 1932, SIMM, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ranks at the top in China for its drug discovery and development activities, with more than 100 drugs having been developed since its establishment. In 2010, SIMM purchased Instem’s integrated Provantis preclinical solution suite to automate study processes at its state of the art facility in Zhangjiang High-tech Park, Shanghai.

Following a successful 5-year collaborative relationship, this latest investment by SIMM includes the purchase of the Provantis Reproductive Toxicology module, as well as a range of solutions to support growing demand for genetic toxicology services. SIMM will implement the Provantis Reproductive Toxicology module to support the management, performance, analysis and reporting of all reproductive study types.

Provantis Reproductive Toxicology will be accessed via the SaaS delivery model from Instem’s Shanghai-based data centre, offering simple, cost effective software functionality, maintenance and support. SIMM will deploy Comet Assay IV, a live video imaging system for fast, accurate and reproducible comet slide scoring.
SIMM will also deploy the Ames Study Manager (ASM) software, an integrated suite of software for conducting the bacterial reverse mutation test, together with a sorcerer colony counter and associated implementation services. SIMM will upgrade to Provantis 9, the latest version of Instem’s world-leading preclinical software solution.

Likun Gong, senior toxicology expert, SIMM, said “Provantis is without a doubt the leading solution across the world. It has been instrumental in improving our research processes and further enhancing the quality, accuracy and speed of service to our clients. We now look forward to harnessing the power of more of Instem’s solutions across our organisation.”

 Neil Donaldson, vice president, sales Europe & Asia, Instem, commented “SIMM is renowned as one of the leading interdisciplinary centres of excellence in China and is recognised worldwide for its outstanding achievements and distinguished research team. We are honoured to further cement our relationship with them and look forward to continuing our successful partnership.”

Instem’s Provantis solution was the first western toxicology/pathology software to enter into the Chinese market, deploying its initial system in one of the largest and most advanced vivariums during 2006. As the Chinese preclinical market continues to grow, Instem is leading the market, with Instem solutions deployed at more sites within the region than any competing product.

Instem has an established full-service office in Shanghai and supports organisations through traditional on-site systems as well as through its SaaS delivery model from a secure, professionally managed data centre based in Shanghai.