Where the Clinical Trial Meets the Laboratory
Ardena’s Assen facility sits at the intersection of two things that are normally separated: the bioanalytical laboratory that measures what is happening in patients and the clinical supply operation that gets the drug to them. Bringing these capabilities together under one roof is not just operationally convenient. It means the people designing the patient kit are the same people who will receive the blood samples it generates, and the lessons from one directly improve the other.
Bioanalytical Services at Assen
Small Molecule PK by LC-MS/MS
The analytical chemistry team at Assen provides fully validated LC-MS/MS methods for quantification of small molecule drugs and their metabolites in plasma, serum, urine, and other biological matrices. Studies run under GLP or GCP conditions as required, with ICH M10-compliant validation packages and ISR programmes as standard.
Large Molecule and Immunogenicity Assays
The ligand-binding assay platform at Assen covers PK quantification for biologics including monoclonal antibodies, ADCs, and fusion proteins, alongside the complete tiered immunogenicity testing programme for anti-drug antibody detection and characterisation. MSD electrochemiluminescence and ELISA platforms are both operated, with assay development experience across a wide range of therapeutic targets.
Biomarker and Flow Cytometry
The biomarker team provides fit-for-purpose assay development and validation for pharmacodynamic, safety, and predictive biomarkers using MSD multiplex platforms, single-plex ELISA, and qPCR. The flow cytometry laboratory runs multi-parametric immunophenotyping panels for T cell subset analysis, B cell characterisation, NK cell phenotyping, and MRD assessment in haematological programmes.
Clinical Supply and Patient Kit Services
The clinical supply team at Assen assembles and quality-checks patient kits for clinical trials, including pre-labelled sample collection tubes, visit-specific configurations, cool pack integration, and laminated step-by-step processing instructions designed to minimise site errors. Kits are assembled to programme-specific designs, with barcode labelling, personalisation to patient ID where required, and IATA-compliant packaging for temperature-controlled international shipment.
Sample logistics are managed end to end: kits ship out to investigator sites, samples arrive back at Assen, chain of custody is logged from receipt, and storage conditions are verified against validated stability data before analysis proceeds. The same team that designed the kit handles the incoming samples, which means any recurring collection errors are identified and fed back to sites quickly.
The Scope of What Assen Handles
| Service Area | Capability | Regulatory Standard |
| Small molecule bioanalysis | LC-MS/MS in plasma, serum, urine, CSF, tissue | GLP / GCP; ICH M10 compliant |
| Large molecule bioanalysis | LBA (MSD, ELISA) for mAbs, ADCs, bispecifics, fusion proteins | GLP / GCP; ICH M10 compliant |
| Immunogenicity | Tiered ADA screening, confirmation, titration, neutralisation | FDA and EMA guideline compliant |
| Biomarker assays | MSD multiplex, ELISA, qPCR; fit-for-purpose validation | FFP approach; scope defined by intended use |
| Flow cytometry | Multi-parametric panels; up to 15+ parameters; immunophenotyping and MRD | Fit-for-purpose; EuroFlow-aligned panel design |
| Patient kit assembly | Visit-specific kits, barcode labelling, cool pack integration, IATA packaging | Quality-controlled assembly; batch records |
| Clinical sample logistics | Receipt, chain of custody, condition verification, storage management | GCP-compliant sample handling |
| Global clinical distribution | IMP storage and distribution to EU and international sites; customs coordination | GDP-compliant distribution; temperature-monitored |
Connecting Assen to the Rest of the Ardena Network
Bioanalytical data from Assen is interpreted alongside PK, PD, and safety data generated across the wider clinical programme. For nanomedicine programmes, the nanoparticle payload bioanalysis at Assen connects directly with the formulation and CQA data from Oss. For ADC programmes, the ADC PK and immunogenicity assays at Assen are coordinated with the HPAPI manufacturing at Pamplona. The integration is structural, not just aspirational.
