Centre for In Vivo Modelling Service Core

At the Centre for In Vivo Modelling (CIVM), we combine advanced animal genetics and cutting-edge technologies to drive cancer research. Our multidisciplinary team specialises in the generation and maintenance of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs), humanised mouse strains, and patient-derived models (xenografts and organoids), using innovations such as CRISPR gene editing, embryo manipulation, and in vivo genetic screening. We develop and cryopreserve new cancer models that closely replicate human disease, supporting translational studies that inform effective therapies. Our approach integrates rigorous scientific standards, ethical oversight, and collaborative expertise, aiming to accelerate progress in understanding cancer biology and developing better treatments for patients.

Our Centre is dedicated to driving innovation and excellence in cancer research through advanced in vivo modelling. We work in close collaboration with the ICR researchers and clinicians at The Royal Marsden to generate genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and patient-derived models, such as patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) and patient-derived organoids (PDOs) to interrogate cancer biology in its own ecosystem. By leveraging these sophisticated in vivo systems, the Centre aims to:

  • Develop innovative cancer models in collaboration with ICR researchers to advance cancer research and drug discovery.
  • Work in partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital to obtain patient samples and generate new patient-derived cancer models for translational studies.
  • Foster close interdisciplinary collaboration with drug discovery teams to leverage these in vivo models in the creation and testing of next-generation anti-cancer therapies.
  • Continuously improve the sophistication and relevance of our cancer models, ensuring they more faithfully recapitulate the complexity of human disease and enhance the translational impact of our research.

 

Our services

Advantages of cryopreserving your strains:

  • Allows you to save space, by getting the mice you need, when you need;
  • Reduces your animal costs;
  • Reduces animal use;
  • Reduces risk from disasters (e.g. disease outbreaks, breeding cessation, equipment failures, genetic contamination, natural disasters, etc…).

 What can be cryopreserved?

  • Mouse Sperm
  • Mouse Embryos
  • Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
  • Mouse Oocytes

 Sperm Cryopreservation:

Description: Sperm is retrieved from the epididymal tissues of 3 male mice and is cryopreserved in 20 to 30 straws that are stored in liquid-phase, liquid nitrogen across two tanks in two separate locations (SRD and CCDD), to ensure sample safety and mitigate risks associated to unexpected or uncontrollable events.

Material needed: 3 males, reproductively active, 12-25 weeks old

Timeline: 2-6 weeks (dependant on QC method of choice)

Considerations: this method of cryopreservation is rapid and cheap; however, it only preserves half of the genome. This method is only recommended for single mutations on a common inbred background.

Quality Control: we provide different levels of Quality Control (QC) for different price ranges.

  1. Test thaw QC: we will thaw 1 straw the day after cryopreservation and visually assess motility and viability of the recovered sperm
  2. IVF and culture to blastocyst QC: we highly recommend this QC step. In addition to test thaw, we will also perform IVF and culture embryos up to blastocyst stage. We will provide the investigator with a fertility rate (%) for the recovered sperm. We will charge an extra cost to cover the IVF procedure.
  3. IVF and embryo transfer QC: In addition to test thaw, we will perform IVF and transfer 2-cell embryos into up to 3 pseudopregnant females to generate viable embryos/live pups. We will charge an extra cost to cover the IVF and embryo transfer procedures.

    Please note that we require you to provide your genotyping protocol, as well as full detail of the genetic content of each strain that you submit for cryopreservation.

Diagram of Sperm Cryopreservation

Embryo Cryopreservation:

Description: Female mice are hormonally superovulated and oocytes are retrieved for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) with sperm from donor male. Resulting embryos are placed in cryoprotectant and loaded into multiple straws, which are gradually cooled and stored in liquid-phase liquid nitrogen in two separate tanks.

Material needed: Donor male and 8-10 donor females

Timeline: 12-15 weeks

Diagram of Embryo Cryopreservation

Embryonic Stem Cells Cryopreservation:

Not available, yet.

Oocyte Cryopreservation:

Not available, yet.

Cryostorage:

If you have cryopreserved mouse sperm/embryo/oocytes at another institution, we can cryostorage your samples for an annual fee. We do require that the investigator takes charge of shipping costs into our facility, and that thawing and genotyping protocols are submitted to the CIVM.

The CIVM stores all samples in liquid-phase liquid nitrogen tanks (CryoPlus1, ThermoFisher Scientific). Material retrieved from each strain is split between 2 tanks, a main and a backup tank, for redundancy. For additional safety, these 2 tanks are located in two separate buildings at ICR Sutton. Both tanks are continuously monitored by T-scan alarm systems and undergo annual service, as well as daily visual inspections.

 

Sperm Cryorecovery:

Description: Frozen sperm is cryorecovered by IVF, followed by embryo transfer. We can purchase wild-type female oocyte donors of the same genetic background, or alternatively the investigator can provide homozygous oocyte donors of the same strain.

Material needed: straw with frozen sperm and 8 to 12 females for IVF, 7-16 weeks old.

Timeline: 12-15 weeks

Diagram of Sperm Cryorecovery

 

Embryo Cryorecovery:

Description: Frozen 2-cell embryos are thawed and transferred into pseudopregnant females.

Material needed: straw(s) with frozen 2-cell embryos

Timeline: 8-10 week


Oocyte Cryorecovery:

Not available, yet.

 

Mouse rederivation

Description: Mouse rederivation is a process used to produce pathogen-free mouse colonies by removing microbial contaminants from existing lines. The procedure can be performed either through natural mating or in vitro fertilization (IVF):

  • In natural mating, embryos are obtained from donor mice and transferred into pathogen-free recipient females.
  • In IVF-based rederivation, fertilized embryos are created in vitro using gametes from donor mice and then implanted into clean recipient females.

Both methods effectively eliminate pathogens, allowing safe importation of mouse strains from lower health-status facilities into the ICR BSU. Samples from both litter and recipient mother will be sent for Health Screening and the associated costs will be charged separately to the Investigator.

Material needed: For IVF-based rederivation we require the investigator to provide 2 males, reproductively active, 12-25 weeks old, and the CIVM will purchase wild-type female egg-donors. Alternatively, if maintaining homozygosity is essential, the investigator will need to provide additional 6-10 females, 7-16 weeks old.

Timeline: 12-15 week

Mouse Rederivation Mating Diagram

Mouse Rederivation IVF diagram

We are currently setting up CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing protocols. Soon, you’ll be able to apply for projects that involve developing new alleles based on:

  • Knockout by indel formation
  • Knockout by precise deletion
  • Conditional knockout
  • Knock-in of point mutations
  • Knock-in of small tags
  • Large knock-in
  • Exon replacement

These alleles will be developed based on Electroporation of Microinjection of CRISPR/Cas9 system reagents.

We will collaborate with you to design the best strategy and help you generate the genetically engineered mice you need for your project. 

We also provide:

  • Development of humanised mouse strains
  • Development of Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and organoid models

Latest ICR News

18/06/26

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, strongly welcomes the news that the targeted drug capivasertib has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating a type of advanced prostate cancer.

The decision provides the first regulatory seal of approval for capivasertib in prostate cancer and means that patients with PTEN-deficient advanced prostate cancer will be able to access the drug in the US.

The US approval has raised hopes that the medicine could also be approved for use in Europe and the UK. A regulatory application for the use of capivasertib in this setting is currently under review in the EU.

Burden of advanced prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the fifth leading cause of male cancer death globally, with more than 1.4 million people diagnosed each year.

Of these, approximately 200,000 patients worldwide, including 35,000 in the US, are diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer annually. About a quarter of these patients have PTEN-deficient tumours, an aggressive form of the disease associated with poor outcomes.

Capivasertib is a first-in-class drug that works in a new way, by blocking the activity of the cancer-driving protein molecule AKT, which when activated transmits signals through the PI3 kinase pathway to drive cancer cell growth.

Targeting the AKT pathway

Capivasertib was discovered by AstraZeneca subsequent to a collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals and its collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and Cancer Research Technology Limited.

The FDA’s decision was based on results from the international phase III CAPItello-281 trial which showed that adding capivasertib to standard treatment delayed the growth or spread of cancer. The standard treatment involved the use of abiraterone, previously discovered at ICR.

Patients who received the combination treatment of capivasertib plus abiraterone lived a median of 33.2 months before their cancer worsened, compared with 25.7 months for those on standard treatment with abiraterone alone — a difference of 7.5 months.

Early results also suggest the treatment may help patients live longer overall, but further follow-up is needed to confirm this.

Years of fundamental research

The success of capivasertib followed years of  fundamental research at the ICR, aimed at understanding how the AKT protein molecule is regulated. In 2002, ICR scientists published the 3D structure of AKT and showed how the protein is activated – explaining how AKT exerts its cancer-driving behaviour and providing the basis for the creation of a drug informed by the structure.

Researchers in the ICR’s Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, with funding from Cancer Research UK, established a drug discovery project and then worked in collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals to design small-molecule inhibitors which would target AKT, based on its 3D structure.

Fragment-based drug design approach

They used a technology called ‘fragment-based design’ where tiny fragments were initially found that attach weakly to the AKT protein, and then these were extended to produce a tighter fit and potent inhibition of AKT’s cancer-driving behaviour.

In 2005, a series of prototype drug compounds discovered by the ICR and Astex was shown to have very promising activity against a range of human tumours grown in mice and was licensed to AstraZeneca. Then, in 2010, AstraZeneca announced its discovery of capivasertib and began to develop the drug as a potential treatment for various forms of cancer.

Earlier success in breast cancer

Following results from the international phase III CAPItello-291 trial which showed that capivasertib doubled the time it took for cancer to progress in people with advanced ER positive, HER-2 negative breast cancer with PI3 kinase pathway mutations, FDA approval was granted in 2023.

In April 2025, NICE recommended capivasertib, in combination with fulvestrant, for patients in England and Wales with hormone receptor (HR) positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) negative breast cancer, with PIK3CA, AKT1, or PTEN mutations whose disease has advanced or spread following treatment.

ICR researchers have explored the use of AKT inhibitors such as capivasertib in prostate cancer, including a study published in Nature Communications in 2025 showing that combining AKT inhibition with other targeted treatments could kill cancer cells and slow tumour growth in models of advanced disease.

‘An important step forward’

Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

“This approval marks an important step forward for patients with advanced prostate cancer, particularly those with PTEN deficient disease who urgently need more targeted treatment options.

“Capivasertib is the result of decades of research into how cancer cells grow and survive, and it is encouraging to see these scientific advances translating into new treatments for patients.

“While further follow-up is needed to confirm the full benefit for survival, these results show the real potential of targeting the AKT pathway to improve outcomes for people with this aggressive form of prostate cancer.”

From early discovery to patient benefit

Professor Paul Workman OBE, Harrap Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, former ICR CEO and previously Director of the  Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery and an active researcher on the AKT drug discovery project, said:

“This approval is a powerful example of how fundamental discovery science can lead to new treatment approaches for patients.

“Research at the ICR helped understand the activity of AKT as a key driver of cancer and our elucidation of its 3D structure guided efforts to design drugs to block it. These early discoveries, together with collaboration with our partner Astex Pharmaceuticals, laid the foundations for the subsequent development of capivasertib. In particular, we used fragment-based design to create advanced prototype drugs that showed clear proof-of-concept activity in human tumour xenograft models – including one where the PI3 kinase pathway was activated by PTEN deficiency.

“It is very rewarding to see our ICR science now contributing to a new treatment option to help patients with advanced prostate cancer, building on capivasertib’s earlier success in treating breast cancer.”