Inhalation Sciences and Karolinska Institutet renew partnership with new validation work and Mars dust study
(Stockholm, Sweden, 12 October 2021) In a renewed partnership Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm will help validate ISAB’s new XposeALI® MP (Micro Perfusion) tool, including using it to test a Mars dust surrogate for the European Space Agency as part of exploring future manned missions to Mars. XposeALI® MP is a highly automated new iteration of ISAB’s current cell culturing module and is expected to make in vitro lung studies simpler, more consistent and more cost-effective – including for biologics, a key priority area for inhaled drug developers.
On Friday 8 October ISAB renewed its long-standing partnership with KI, installing a PreciseInhale® aerosol generator and an upgraded XposeALI® system at KI’s facilities at the Institute for Environmental Medicine (IMM) in Stockholm for a one-year-loan. As part of the new agreement, KI will help validate XposeALI® MP with valuable R&D support. KI has unique in-depth experience of XposeALI®, having published several scientific papers on it and successfully exposing cells on its air liquid interface (ALI) with aerosols from a wide range of substances.
Testing inhaled ‘Mars dust’
The new partnership includes a project in which KI will partner with the Human Space Exploration team within the ESA (European Space Agency). KI intends to expose lung cells with a Mars dust surrogate, which will deliver important information for future manned expeditions to Mars.
Market potential for XposeALI® MP estimated at ‘several million euros’
XposeALI® MP (Micro Perfusion) is a new highly automated iteration of ISAB’s XposeALI® module, with an automated sampling phase, making carrying out experiments simpler and more cost-effective. XposeALI® MP will enable in vitro permeability studies for inhaled drugs to be more standardized and physiologically relevant. Currently, research within inhalation drugs is moving towards biologicals, i.e., proteins rather than small molecules; permeability studies carried out on XposeALI® MP could play a vital role in understanding the pharmacokinetics of these larger molecules and how inhaled protein drugs will be absorbed and retained in the lungs.
The estimated market potential for XposeALI® MP of several million euros has been confirmed by several key users and companies in the marketplace.
ISAB CEO Manoush Masarrat: “We really value our relationship with KI. Few groups have such in-depth knowledge of our systems. Being able to harness that expertise in validating this new version of XposeALI® has great academic and commercial benefits for us and we look forward to starting this valuable collaboration with KI.”
For more information about Inhalation Sciences, please contact:
Manoush Masarrat, CEO
E-mail: Manoush.masarrat@inhalation.se
Mobile: +46 (0)73 628 9153
About Inhalations Sciences Sweden AB (publ)
Inhalation Sciences Sweden AB (publ) develops and commercializes world-leading instruments and services for research into inhalation. The company’s patented lab instruments PreciseInhale® and DissolvIt® enable researchers in the pharma industry to make drug pipeline decisions at an early stage, saving time and resources for R&D departments, and enables researchers in academic institutions to define how aerosols and small particles impact our lungs, and so our health, when being inhaled.
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