CRO Services

Ion Channel Preclinical CRO

Specialized preclinical CRO evaluating chronic pain and dry eye disease candidates targeting TRPV1, TRPA1, and Nav ion channels. From electrophysiology-based cell assays to complex animal behavior studies, we cover the full preclinical drug development pipeline.

19+
Completed Contracts
13+
Disease Animal Models
5
Chronic Pain Models
3
Core Research Platforms

About

Tracing the Source of Pain Through Science

Neuropathic pain, osteoarthritis, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, dry eye disease — the conditions we address all involve chronic pain and sensory disorders that disrupt daily life. With 19 years of expertise specialized in ion channel pharmacology, we precisely validate the efficacy of drug candidates.

Songdo Research Center

BRC 1-302, 9 Songdo Mirae-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon

Seoul Research Center

Ace Hightower-3 #1001, 145 Gasandigital 1-ro, Geumcheon-gu, Seoul

Dr. Jiyoon Shin

Head of Central Research Laboratory

Core Services

Three Core CRO Services

From cellular screening to whole-animal studies — preclinical efficacy evaluation under one roof.

01

Drug Efficacy Evaluation

Precise pharmacological evaluation of therapeutic candidates in chronic pain, neurological, and dry eye disease animal models. We operate 5 pain types and 4 dry eye models.

Neuropathic PainOsteoarthritisDry EyeCIPN
02

In Vivo / In Vitro Evaluation

End-to-end execution: 7 drug administration routes including intrathecal, 4 blood sampling methods, neural tissue slide preparation, and 18-parameter hematological analysis.

7 Routes18 Hematology TestsTissue Slides
03

FLIPR Penta Screening

High-throughput screening (HTS) using ion channel-expressing cell lines. Automatically measures calcium influx and membrane potential responses for thousands of compounds per day, including early-stage hERG cardiac safety evaluation.

TRPV1/TRPA1Nav1.7/1.8hERG Safety

Service 01 — Efficacy

Chronic Pain Models

Five distinct pain types — fully covered

01

Neuropathic Pain

Quantification of mechanical allodynia, cold hypersensitivity, and thermal hypersensitivity in peripheral nerve injury models (SNT, CCI, SNL). Threshold measurement with Von Frey filaments and thermal response time recording with the Plantar test.

Von Frey · Plantar test · Cold allodynia

02

Osteoarthritis Pain

Quantitative evaluation of spontaneous pain behavior and joint motor function changes in MIA (Monosodium iodoacetate)-induced OA models using weight-bearing asymmetry and gait analysis.

Weight-bearing · Gait analysis

03

Post-Surgical Pain

The Brennan plantar incision model reproduces acute and persistent post-surgical pain. Pain threshold changes are tracked from immediately after surgery through recovery.

Incisional pain model (Brennan)

04

Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Quantification of peripheral sensory nerve hypersensitivity in STZ (Streptozotocin)-induced diabetic models. Blood glucose levels and pain thresholds are monitored simultaneously.

STZ-induced DPN model

05

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN)

Evaluation of chemical sensory abnormalities (cold allodynia) and mechanical allodynia in CIPN models treated with Paclitaxel, Oxaliplatin, and Cisplatin. Optimized model for novel drug projects targeting CIPN — the most common side effect of chemotherapy.

Paclitaxel · Oxaliplatin · Cisplatin

Service 02 — In Vivo / In Vitro

From Administration to Analysis

Full pipeline in-house — zero outsourcing

Drug Administration Routes (7)

  • ·Intravenous (IV)
  • ·Intraperitoneal (IP)
  • ·Oral (PO)
  • ·Subcutaneous (SC)
  • ·Intramuscular (IM)
  • ·Intradermal (ID)
  • ·Intrathecal (IT)

Blood Sampling (4)

  • ·Jugular vein
  • ·Cardiac puncture
  • ·Orbital sinus
  • ·Aortic

Necropsy & Tissue

  • ·Rodent neural tissue necropsy
  • ·Tissue slide preparation
  • ·DRG ganglion isolation
  • ·Tissue fixation & embedding

Analysis Equipment

  • ·Indiko hematology analyzer
  • ·Biochemistry analysis
  • ·Fluorescence microscopy
  • ·Electrophysiology recording

Hematology Panel (18 parameters)

WBCRBCHGBHCTMCVMCHMCHCRDWPLTMPVPDWPCTNEUT%LYMPH%MONO%EOS%BASO%Biochemistry Panel

Disease Models

Disease Animal Models

Full coverage on Rat / Mouse platforms

Pain Models

  • ·SNT (Spinal nerve transection)
  • ·CCI (Chronic constriction injury)
  • ·SNL (Spinal nerve ligation)
  • ·CIPN (Paclitaxel / Oxaliplatin)
  • ·DPN (STZ-induced)
  • ·Post-surgical pain
  • ·Osteoarthritis pain (MIA)
  • ·Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
  • ·Inflammatory pain (CFA)

Eye / Other Models

  • ·Environmental dry eye
  • ·BAC-induced dry eye
  • ·Alkali burn corneal injury
  • ·Ethanol burn model
  • ·LPS-induced pneumonia
  • ·Gout model
  • ·Ischemic model
  • ·Stroke model

Cell / Neural-Based

  • ·Human DRG neurons
  • ·Rodent DRG neurons
  • ·Rodent TG neurons
  • ·Ion channel-overexpressing cell lines
  • ·Acute brain & spinal cord slices
  • ·Human iPSC cardiomyocytes
  • ·Sprague-Dawley Rat
  • ·C57BL/6 / ICR Mouse

Service 03 — HTS

FLIPR Penta Automated Screening

Thousands of compounds evaluated automatically per day

Ion Channel Efficacy Screening

HTS-based functional ion channel evaluation

  • ·Human TRPV1 / Rat TRPV1
  • ·Human TRPA1
  • ·Human Nav1.4
  • ·Human Nav1.7
  • ·Human Nav1.8
  • ·Calcium influx
  • ·Calcium imaging

Cardiac Safety Screening

Early-stage cardiotoxicity evaluation

  • ·hERG channel
  • ·Cav1.2 channel
  • ·Nav1.5 channel
  • ·Human iPSC cardiomyocytes
  • ·Cardiac safety panel

Assay Portfolio

One-stop measurement methodology

  • ·Calcium assay (FURA-2 · FLUO-4)
  • ·Potassium assay
  • ·Luminescence Aequorin
  • ·Membrane Potential dye
  • ·GPCR assay

Track Record

Completed Contract Studies

Trusted by pharmaceutical companies and national research institutes

Pharmaceutical Contracts

  • Osteoarthritis pain mechanism research
  • Cold allodynia evaluation in neuropathic pain models
  • Action potential modulation efficacy of test substances
  • Reticulocyte count change measurement
  • Preclinical acute toxicity testing (Non-GLP)
  • Cytotoxicity testing
  • Pain ion channel antagonist screening
  • Pharmacokinetics & acute toxicity studies
  • Pneumonia model test substance viability analysis
  • Mechanism-based efficacy studies

Government R&D Contracts

  • BK channel relevance evaluation in vascular endothelial cells
  • Pain modulation efficacy in spinal neural circuits
  • TRPA1 ion channel functional inhibition evaluation
  • TRPV1 ion channel functional inhibition evaluation
  • Synaptic plasticity modulation under chemotherapy treatment
  • Discovery of key proteins regulating itch
  • Natural compound efficacy for diabetic neuropathy treatment
  • Ocular surface damage evaluation
  • Physicochemical property analysis

Global Partnership

Researching With the World

2026 · Jinshan, China

WuXi AppTec & RudaCure MOU

Strategic partnership signed with WuXi AppTec, the world's largest CDMO. Connected to global clinical development networks.

Contact

Let's Research Together

New contract studies, joint research, and service inquiries are all welcome. Start with RudaCure CRO.

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