Evaluating the effects of potential new drugs on human immune cells.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigation into the effects of novel immunomodulatory agents on human immune cell function.
IRAS ID
164066
Contact name
Neil Williams
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
KWS Biotest
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Our program of work is designed to investigate the effects of a variety of new drug compounds on the human immune system. A functional immune system is critical to prevent infectious disease or cancers but has been shown to be a direct cause of disease in many autoimmune conditions, for example rheumatoid arthritis or juvenile diabetes. The new drug compounds we work with are intended either to help treat disease directly, or indirectly by altering the immune response. We will isolate white blood cells from whole blood, secondary lymphoid tissue; such as the tonsils, or from diseased tissues and look at the effects of the new drugs on the function of these cells. Where we see an effect, we then anticipate performing further experiments using different fractions of the white blood cells, which have specialised functions, in order to find out more about how the drug works and to specifically look at how it affects each individual type of cell. This work is important because in some cases it will be the first time human immune cells have been exposed to the novel compounds and it is crucial to determine whether they are likely to work in ‘real’ human cells rather than cell lines which have been grown in laboratories for many years. The experiments we plan to carry out will also help us to understand how the drugs work and will help to substantially reduce the need to carry out experiments using laboratory animals. This body of work will provide vital pre-clinical data to support entry into early phase clinical trials for promising drug candidates.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SW/1121
Date of REC Opinion
24 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion