Immunotherapy research is a rapidly expanding field with a pipeline of monoclonal antibodies in development to treat a range of cancers and autoimmune diseases. The mechanism of action (MOA) used by an antibody to mediate a therapeutic response must be fully defined to enable a candidate antibody to advance down the preclinical development pipeline. It is also required for all antibodies used in clinical research and regulatory IND filings in order to optimize dosing and assess the risk of detrimental side effects.

Flow Cytometry utilizes fluorescently labeled antibodies to detect specific biomarkers on the surface and within cells, and over the past few years, there has been a surge in reagents available for flow cytometry applications. Most of these have been developed using monoclonal antibodies raised in mice and conjugated to a range of fluorophores. However, there are still instances where suitable monoclonal antibody reagents/conjugates are not commercially available, and small-scale conjugations are not practical. In these instances, so-called indirect staining may be employed, where the binding of an unconjugated primary antibody is detected using a secondary anti-IgG antibody conjugate.

Pharmacodynamics (PD) is defined as the study of the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and the mechanisms of their actions. Where pharmacokinetics looks at how the organism processes the drug, pharmacodynamics studies how…

To read part one of this 2-part series, click here. With increasing focus on large molecule therapeutics and interest in large molecule biomarkers it’s essential to have LC/MS available as a complimentary technology to ligand…

Thank you for your interest in learning about KCAS. Founded in 1979, KCAS has become one of the fastest growing Bioanalytical and Biomarker facilities within our industry. KCAS is a progressive growing contract research…

The paradigm of drug development outsourcing is in a period of rapid transition coupled with a growing market in a competitive space. Today’s service providers are hardly recognizable from a decade ago and if the continued evolution in the market is any indicator, it is safe to say the next…

The bioanalytical landscape for support of biopharmaceuticals (biologics or large molecules) and biomarker testing is an ever changing map. The industry is currently focused on low level sensitivity, data integrity, and compliance with the…