- Personalized experimental design to ensure the most biologically relevant data is obtained
- These assays may be optimized to multiple species (human, non-human primates, & rodents) for cross-reactivity assessment of your molecules
- All assays are performed with high-quality reagents and strict controls by experienced immunologists
Service Overview
About Non-Antigen Specific Functional Assays
Modulating immune checkpoint pathways with agonist or antagonistic therapeutic antibodies has been a recent major breakthrough for cancer therapy. Targeting cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or its ligand (PD-L1) have demonstrated striking clinical responses with durable disease control resulting in improved survival in some patients across a broad spectrum of cancer types. Agonist antibodies targeting T cell activation pathways such as OX40, CD40, or CD27 are also in active clinical development. Given the power of these new therapies, it is important to evaluate the complex and dynamic immune responses using appropriate in-vitro functional assays as well as understanding the particular nuances associated with target of interest.
Recent assessment reports from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicines Agency (EMA) of approved checkpoint therapies to PD-1 have demonstrated that non-antigen specific functional assays, including Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) or anti-CD3/-CD28 activation bead stimulation, have an integral part in non-clinical characterization of these immune checkpoint therapies. These assays were used primarily for in-vitro pharmacodynamic assessment of: 1) potentiation of T cell responses in the presence of the biologic, and 2) PK/PD relationship between ex-vivo stimulated patient samples with treatment and correlating receptor occupancy levels on T cells.
With drug development companies understanding the critical role of these non-antigen specific functional assays, many are starting to use them earlier in the drug discovery process by employing them as a primary screening approach with their candidate therapeutics. Other trends include using these assays for translational research where patient’s samples from active clinical trials are stimulated ex-vivo in the presence of other checkpoint inhibitors to explore potential additive responses. Data derived from these clinical research efforts can provide a powerful assessment real-time or post-hoc when evaluating non-responding or responding patients by combining the data with expression data derived from cell profiling panels or sequencing data of T-cell and B-cell receptors.
How Non-Antigen Specific Functional Assays are performed at iQ
iQ applies our experience and knowledge performing these assays to work closely with your team to provide a roadmap for evaluating your test articles using our non-antigen-specific functional assays. iQ also incorporates the big picture perspective when executing these studies as different research groups have different end project goals ranging from practical assessment of a few candidate molecules to high-throughput screening of libraries of candidates.
iQ fully leverages our collective knowledge and experience in performing these assays (SEB or CD3/CD28 bead-based activation) to provide robust and reproducible results.  We have identified and optimized critical factors that are crucial to properly execute non-antigen specific functional assays. This includes the use of human samples that have undergone characterization and are used across a variety of our projects. This accumulation of experience working with known samples allow us to apply this knowledge to your assay.  We also use premium grade stimulants procured from reputable manufacturers who operate under cGMP (21 CFR 211, Q7A) conditions or provide these materials to the global diagnostics industry.
The iQ Experience
Tailored Experiments
Your research is important to us. Our scientists will work through each step of the process with you, including assay design, data analysis, and recommendations for future studies.
Streamlined Process
Simplify your workflow. Bypass the middle-man: at iQ Biosciences, you'll get immediate access to our biospecimen inventory, saving you both valuable time and money.
Expertise
We're experts- so you don't have to be. Augmenting years of experience in immunology and working with immune assays, our scientists stay current with the latest publications and technology.
Exceptional Service
We're here to help. We know the challenges you're facing: whether it be through expedited service or our complimentary consulting services, our team is dedicated to helping you reach your goals.
