Human tissues for analysing immunotherapeutic drugs v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Use of human tissue in vitro to evaluate the activity of candidate drugs
IRAS ID
307854
Contact name
Malgorzata Pupecka-Swider
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Agenus Ltd
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Agenus is conducting R&D activities in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Our goal is to identify and bring to the patients new drugs or combinations of drugs enhancing the response of the immune system against tumour cells. To identify such drugs we generate panels of molecules able to modulate the activity of specific targets present on immune cells. Human tissue samples (healthy or diseased) will be used to further evaluate the activity of our drug candidates.
In the present study we will access anonymised tissue samples from NHS Blood & Transplant, hospital Tissue Banks and sample archives or commercial suppliers.
Samples are for in vitro testing only. The tissues or tissue products may be stored onsite in a dedicated space prior to being used in assays. They will then be discarded according to HTA guidelines.Summary of Results
The aim of the study was to establish an ex-vivo tissue explant culture for the evaluation of the effect of various drug candidates aiming at modulating tissue-resident immune cells. The first milestone for this study was to establish the experimental method. Anonymized fresh tumour samples and healthy tissues were obtained from various tissue banks. They were processed into small fragments that were incubated for 1-4 days in culture medium. The maintenance of the architecture of the tissue and survival of cells was demonstrated using various techniques, including imaging. The modulation of the activation of resident immune cells was also established using various compounds as positive controls. The second milestone of the study which was to study the effect of different drug candidates aimed at stimulating immune cells against tumour cells was not completed as the study had to be terminated prematurely. Not enough data was obtained for external dissemination of the study results, e.g. through publication.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
23/WS/0011
Date of REC Opinion
8 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion