Autoimmune Disease Research: Human Cell-Based Assays and In Vitro Models for Preclinical Drug Discovery
Autoimmune and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases involve a combination of immune-cell activation, inflammatory signalling and changes within the affected tissue. In conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease and inflammatory skin disorders, these responses can become persistent, leading to chronic inflammation and progressive tissue damage. This makes preclinical modelling particularly important. Simple single-cell or single-endpoint assays […]
Cracking The Cytokine Code: A Closer Look At PBMC Stimulation Protocol Design And Multiplex Analysis
PBMCs include the majority of immune cell types present in human blood: T-cells, B-cells, NK cells, monocytes and dendritic cells. On their own, they don’t tell you much. Stimulate them the right way, though, and they start producing data you can actually work with: proliferation counts, cytokine release, activation markers. That’s what a PBMC stimulation protocol is really for: giving research teams a controlled, repeatable way to see how […]
Chemotaxis in Inflammatory Diseases: From Biology to Drug Discovery
Biotechnology pitch decks love to sell neat, simple stories. They talk about chemokine receptors like they are clean, binary targets just waiting for some magic bullet small molecule. However, history suggests a sobering reflection that drug discovery pipelines routinely hemorrhage substantial sums scouting for anti-inflammatory candidates that emerge from early screening looking fantastic but fail in Phase II clinical trials. […]
Monocyte Derived Macrophages: Why Researchers Prefer Primary Cell Models
A flight simulator shows you how to use the controls, but it doesn’t show you what turbulence really feels like. The instruments respond identically on the page, but actual air, actual weight, and actual pressure changes all once you’re in flight. Macrophage research operates on the same principle. The same principles hold true for macrophage studies where immortalized cell lines, such as THP-1 […]
3D Cell Culture vs. 2D Cell Culture: What Researchers Need to Know
Cellular culturing continues to be an important technique for validating targets, developing models of diseases, and conducting preclinical tests of drugs. For many years, 2D cell cultures were considered the most convenient and efficient method to explore cellular pathways, test compounds, and gather experimental information. However, many people have met with a recurring issue when […]
How In Vitro Skin Models are Improving Dermatology Drug Discovery
The pharmaceutical industry loves a shiny new panacea. Walk into any modern drug discovery symposium, and you will overhear seemingly constant discussion of how next-gen lab platforms are making traditional preclinical methods exotic relics. In the dermatology sector, the current darling of the benchtop is the in vitro human skin model. Proponents claim these sophisticated […]
Challenges in Preclinical Rheumatoid Arthritis Research – and Emerging Solutions
Let’s face it: the translation of a pipeline from benchside triumph to bedside reality is often where pharmaceutical dreams go to die. Pharma has spent billions trying to find therapeutics for autoimmune diseases for the last several decades, only to crash on the rocks when the clinical trials were conducted. This harsh truth is more […]
Why 3D Spheroid Invasion Assays Are Transforming Oncology Research
Cancer research is evolving rapidly, driven by advances in targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and precision medicine. As treatment strategies become more sophisticated, the need for predictive preclinical models has never been greater. While traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures have long been a cornerstone of oncology research, they often fail to accurately replicate the complexity of human […]
Beyond Off-the-Shelf Solutions: When Does Drug Discovery Need Custom Assays?
In the competitive world of drug discovery, generating reliable and actionable data is essential for making informed decisions and advancing promising therapies. Commercial assay kits have become a popular choice because they are convenient, readily available, and easy to implement. For many routine applications, these standardized solutions work well. However, as research grows more complex, […]
Choosing the Right Cell-Based Assay for Your Research Goals
Drug discovery pipelines now produce thousands of candidate molecules in a short amount of time, but moving early in vitro results into clinically meaningful results is still hard. Too many late-stage failures occur due to early screening models that don’t reflect real disease biology. This has driven new demand for biologically relevant cell-based assays that underlie mechanism-driven and predictive […]