Essential Pharmaceuticals is entering a research and development partnership with Northwestern University. In this partnership Essential Pharma is sponsoring Dr. William Karpus and his immunology lab to lead the investigation. The broad scope of the investigation is to understand the inflammatory response to autoimmune antigens using novel tools and approaches leading to improved testing methodologies and outcomes.
Essential is developing a serum free media to be using in primary research and clinical investigations. The current standard for culturing in immunological research is fetal bovine serum. There are many factors in serum that can influence the immune response, many of which remain unknown. Futher, variations in fetal bovine serum have caused issues with reproducible outcomes in research.
In the past few years the model for multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) has moved away from a dualistic dogma of Th1 and Th2 the T cell helper (Th) subsets. The new EAE model is complex involving several effector T cell populations like Th17 and regulation of T reg cells. Interestingly there are many factors in FBS directly influencing the activity of both macrophages and T cells resulting in possibility obscuring prior data and interpretation of results. The data generated in those studies may be inaccurate or difficult to interpret. Essential Pharma has a novel serum replacement called Cell Ess, that may address some of these issues scientists face.
Adam Elhofy, Ph.D, has published several papers on inflammation and autoimmunity will be spearheading the research. The scope of research will start with understanding the influence of FBS on T cells and APCs in cell culture. Several strong mediators in FBS potentiate an autoimmune environment like the presence of TGF-beta and retinoic acid. After understanding the key differences in vitro the research will move to an in vivo model. The EAE model will be employed to study the how leukocytes are activated and their role in disease induction.
The collaboration between Dr. Karpus and Essential will allow for the advancement of understanding of how the immune system works by removing the unknown variables from cell culture and controlling for the known variable. The goal will be to advance the understanding of EAE and how Cell Ess can play a role as novel tool in research.
