The UK headquartered clinical development organisation, specialised in topical and transdermal drug delivery, has expanded its testing models to support pharmaceutical development programmes targeting coronavirus treatments.
MedPharm said these models allow companies to assess therapeutic effectiveness in nasal, airway (bronchial) and deep lung (alveolar) epithelia against members of the coronaviridae family. The work is to help to de-risk development programmes and screen drugs for therapeutic effectiveness to accelerate development prior to clinical trials. “This new model allows companies to screen compounds and formulations to answer critical questions about effectiveness against viral infections in the coronaviridae family prior to the clinic”, said Dr Jon Lenn, Chief Technology Officer, MedPharm. “Finding effective new treatments quickly for these viral infections is imperative in these extraordinary times.”
According to the company, its facility located in North Carolina, U.S., has a dedicated innovation laboratory able to rapidly support the development of new types of in vitro pharmacodynamic/infection models. The dedicated microbiology lab has been specifically designed with negative internal pressure and biological safety cabinets suitable for BSL2 work. MedPharm said these models are based on air liquid interface tissue culture of primary human cells from different regions of the respiratory system which are then infected with relevant corona viral strains.
“MedPharm has a history of innovation in developing living tissue models to screen compounds and formulations. This experience allows us to quickly react and help solve project-specific problems for customers and stay at the forefront of the latest scientific breakthroughs and technology”, said the company in a statement.
Picture: MedPharm new nasal model
