Ricerca Biosciences introduced two new cellular assay services: Early Safety Screening Cytotoxicity and ImmunoSIGNAL Cytokine Storm Cellular Assay. Early Safety Screening Cytotoxicity is a high-throughput model of cytotoxicity testing that, according to the company, provides a quick and cost-effective option suitable for early in vitro toxicity liability assessment. This assay employs high-resolution cell imaging that allows sensitive detection of cell loss and cell proliferation inhibition. It can run with any of five pre-validated human primary cells, the pre-validated primary cell panel, or cells chosen through collaboration with Ricerca.
 
ImmunoSIGNAL Cytokine Storm Cellular Assay is an in vitro assay that evaluates biologics for their potential to induce cytokine release syndrome, a potentially fatal immune reaction that has been associated with monoclonal antibody therapy. In this assay, compounds are evaluated for their ability to stimulate human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to secrete specific cytokines and chemokines. The assay uses air-dry antibody binding, which produces superior induction of T cell cytokines, inflammatory cytokines, and chemokines.
 
Dr. Usha Warrior, Ricerca technical director of in vitro pharmacology, said, “Bringing these crucial screening assays to the earliest stages of drug discovery with this cost-effective model liberates our clients from having to invest capital and time. Ricerca has the capacity to screen hundreds of compounds a week with these new assays.”