Cell Line Engineering

A group of scientists wearing blue lab coats, hair coverings, and masks works in a clean, modern laboratory conducting custom cell line engineering via CRSIPR and other gene editing methods to create stable custom cell lines.

Cell Line Engineering

The cell line engineering service team at Pharmaron is experienced in creating a variety of cell lines, with a focus on quality. The team has the capacity to generate over 200 custom cell lines annually, encompassing the design and synthesis of plasmids, the generation, and rigorous verification of the cell lines and modifications during each step.

Executing all steps in-house, Pharmaron offers the creation of a cell pool for a custom cell line within an expedited timeframe of just 4 weeks, contingent upon the specifics of the project. Leveraging the availability of our extensive cell bank with over 1,000 cells, we enable an immediate project start. 

The newly engineered cell lines can either be shipped or undergo analysis by our skilled biology team, which is experienced in target validation and identification, as well as cell biology services. 

The custom-made cell lines can be used for a myriad of applications, including but not limited to:

  • Genetic modifications for precise target validation
  • Inducible protein expression to understand signaling pathways
  • Visualize and purify genomic loci to study specific genome regions
  • Support drug discovery projects through the development of cell lines expressing specific drug targets
    • Analyze oncogenic drivers in BaF3 cells
    • Drug testing against GPCRs or ion channels
    • Evaluating protein degradation with HiBiT cells
    • Investigating protein-protein interaction with NanoBRET 
    • Employing the dTAG/Halo technology for target validation for protein degrader discovery

Please also see our cell line development capabilities for biologics manufacturing.

Our experience in custom-tailored cell line engineering in numbers​

Pharmaron’s cell line engineering capabilities open new avenues for drug discovery. Any cell line, any edit, any research objective. Our track record speaks for us.

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Cell Lines Created
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Historic success rate
 weeks
Turnaround time for polyclonal cell pool
A scientist in a lab coat and mask holds a cell culture dish near a microscope, preparing for cell line engineering analysis in a controlled lab environment.

Cell Line Engineering Services

Pharmaron’s extensive array of cell engineering options was established to meet the unique demands of our clients.

  • Knock down
  • CRISPR knock out
  • CRISPR knock in
  • CRISPR epigenetics
  • CRISPR activation
  • CRISPR interference
  • Reporter cell lines
  • BaF3 cell lines
  • GPCR cell lines
  • Ion channel cell lines
  • Transmembrane protein cell lines
  • Protein tagging (HiBiT, dTag, HaloTag, SmashTag)

CRISPR cell engineering process is displayed for generation of custom cell lines for drug discovery services.

Methods

Different cell engineering methods can be chosen based on their suitability for stable or transient gene expression, tailored to the project’s specific cell type.

  • CRISPR cell engineering
  • Virus infection (lentivirus, retrovirus, adenovirus, AAV)
  • Lipid based transfection
  • Electroporation
A scientist wearing a mask and gloves operates a QIAcuity Four digital PCR instrument, carefully placing a sample for cell line engineering analysis.

Cell lines

The creation of custom cell lines can be immediately initiated with one of our 1,000 cell lines in our cell bank. Working with a purchased or client provided cell line is also an option.

  • Cancer cell lines
  • Normal cell lines
  • Primary cell lines
  • Human and animal cell lines
Validation of engineered cell lines is performed for example with the system to analyze gene expression by quantification of mRNA levels in the custom cell lines

Verification of Engineered Cell Lines

All newly engineered cell lines undergo rigorous verification to confirm the identity of the parent cell line, the correct gene editing and access the expression of target genes. Clients can choose testing for functional and phenotypic evaluation as an option.

  • Sanger Sequence
  • NGS
  • RT-qPCR
  • Western blotting (WB, Jess)
  • Flow cytometry
  • ELISA, MSD, AlphaLISA, HTRF
  • Phenotype evaluation 

Download our flyer summarizing Pharmaron’s cell line engineering capabilities

A promotional image for Pharmaron's Cell Line Engineering Capability Overview highlights their services, techniques like CRISPR, and bioanalytical development options. It also includes the option to download a PDF. The top left features "Service Overview," with the logo displayed in both the top left and bottom right corners.