ISR Platform®

A unique research tool for injection site reaction studies

Human response to your vaccine and drug candidates

First-in-human data without harming humans or animals

Local adverse events are too often discovered upon injection during clinical trials, causing unexpected pain to volunteers and resulting in lower patient compliance. Genoskin has designed a unique platform to study inflammatory side-effects to injections prior to clinical trials. Our ISR Platform® helps you assess and predict inflammatory response to subcutaneous, transdermal and intradermal vaccines, drugs and medical devices. A quick overview of the platform’s features and benefits:

Cutting-edge

Unbiased automated bioinformatics-based analysis of immunotoxicity and cytotoxicity.

Characterization

Deep knowledge of drug-induced pseudo-allergic reactions to better prevent and mitigate them.

Injections

Local biological response to self-injected drugs from live, immunocompetent human skin.

Adverse events

Predict the number one complaint from patients upon injection of biologics, prior to clinical trials.

Study human immunotoxicity and cytotoxicity in response to your drug

Custom experiments to help you move forward

Genoskin’s ISR platform® helps biotech and pharmaceutical companies understand and mitigate injection site reactions and determine the right formulation for their drug candidate, biosimilar or marketed drug. Depending on your needs, our expert immunologists design custom experiments to provide reliable answers and help you move forward safely.

Immunotoxicity

Local immune burst & inflammatory event associated with skin-resident immune cell or mast cell activation is mostly caused upon injection of biologic drugs.

Cytotoxicity

Local toxicity causing cell death and necrosis is mostly caused upon injection of small molecule drugs.

First-in-human data on immunotoxicity

Unbiased Multiplex Cytokine Assays

In order to help you predict active biological processes at the site of injection, we study the immunotoxicity of subcutaneous or intradermal drugs, vaccines and medical devices directly in our live and immunocompetent HypoSkin® models. This unique approach provides the missing link between preclinical and clinical trials. It helps you obtain live immune response to different formulations from a cohort of healthy skin models to better understand immune response.

Barplots of statistically differentiated cytokines after injection of Cetrorelix in Genoskin's HypoSkin model
Cytokine release analysis upon injection of Cetrorelix in the HypoSkin® model. Statistics show a differential expression of the following cytokines: IL-1b, TNFa, IL-12p70 and IL-13.

To collect all the relevant data, we simultaneously measure the proteins released in the HypoSkin® culture medium and matrix. Cytokines are dosed using the MesoScale technology. The data are then clustered using our proprietary AUDaCY (AUtomated Data Analysis of CYtokines) application, to profile inflammation at the proteomic level, highlight the mechanisms involved and associate real-world evidence to better predict clinical outcomes.

First-in-human data on cytotoxicity

Predict local toxicity for self-injected drugs

Genoskin’s ISR platform® helps you de-risk clinical trials via cytotoxicity studies on living human skin from a cohort of healthy donors. Genoskin’s ISR platform® helps biotech and pharmaceutical companies understand and mitigate injection site reactions and determine the right dosage for their drug candidate, biosimilar or marketed drug. When it comes to research on immunotoxicity, the platform generates first-in-human data on loss of cell viability, signs of cell death and cytokine release.

Identify loss of cell viability

To provide reliable data on loss of cell viability in human skin, our skin biology experts perform histological analyses to quantify pyknosis, epidermal detachment, papillary dermis alteration or breaks in adipocyte membranes.

Detect signs of cell death

Our experts perform a range of immunofluorescence assays, such as TUNEL assays, to detect DNA breaks. We also conduct spectrometry analyses of LDH release to measure cell death.

Explore cytokine release

To generate an injected drug’s proteomic signature and better characterise off-target events, we combine multiplex cytokine assays with Audacy, our proprietary software that allows automated clustering of cytokines for unbiased analysis.

Interested in seeing how others use our ISR® Platform?

Feel free to have a look at this case study to see how one of our customers mitigated injection site reactions using the ISR Platform®.

Download Case Study

Take your research one step further

Discover what triggered the adverse event

Genoskin associates cutting-edge technology with proprietary AI-based analytical applications to help you understand the mechanism of action behind the adverse effect we observed in situ or following a clinical trial. We generate the unique biological signature left behind by your biotherapeutic agent to select the drug candidate or formulation that is least likely to trigger injection site reactions, combining our MANTIS® spatial biology platform and RNA sequencing.

MANTIS® Spatial Biology Platform

Our MANTIS® spatial biology platform provides complete immune profiling in response to your drug or formulation to better understand the immune cell interactions associated with the adverse event.

Mantis spatial biology digital map
MANTIS® Spatial Biology Platform

Next Generation RNA Sequencing

Our experts also conduct next generation RNA-Sequencing to help you understand the off-target effects of your drug on the human transcriptome, a good addition to further characterize a drug’s mechanism of action.

Injection Site Reactions next generation RNA sequencing

Need more details on how we study injection site reactions?

Don’t hesitate to explain your project to our experts and let us help you move your project forward.

Frequently asked questions

What are injection site reactions?

Injection site reactions (ISRs) are fast, localized inflammatory reactions, characterized by pain, itch, swelling, and erythema. They are one of the most commonly reported adverse effects upon injection of a biologic drug. ISRs are known as “pseudo-allergic responses” as these reactions are not mediated through the classical IgE-mediated mast cell degranulation pathway.

Corbière, A, Loste, A, Gaudenzio, N.- Exp Dermatol. 2021; 30: 193– 200.

Why study injection site reactions?

With the rapid growth of the biologic drugs class over the past two decades, a massive increase in unwanted immunogenic response has been reported. Too often, local adverse effects are only discovered at the clinical trial stage or when a drug is already on the market. As a consequence, they may delay the drug development process and increase associated costs or negatively affect patient compliance when discovered after the drug is put on the market.

Can I use multiple donors in one study?

Since our human data generation platforms are generated form donated skin, it is possible to conduct studies on multiple donors to represent the diversity of the human population or of your target audience. The characteristics of our skin models are donor-dependent and reflect the natural biological diversity of the general population, allowing for more relevant and representative study data. Our human data platforms provide the advantage of the potential to mimic small clinical trials. 

How many donors and replicates does Genoskin recommend for statistically relevant results?

To generate statistically relevant results, Genoskin recommends using a minimum 3 donors with 3 replicates.

Does Genoskin offer diversity in donor selection?

Yes, Genoskin offers a diverse range of donors, varying in age, gender, and ethnicity. This ensures that the data generated is relevant and representative of the general population or your target audience.

What types of parallel testing does Genoskin offer?

Genoskin offers parallel testing of different compounds within the same donor. This allows for a more nuanced understanding of how various concentrations, formulations or therapeutic candidates interact with local skin immune system upon injection.

What advantages does Genoskin ex vivo platforms offer for conducting toxicity studies?

  • Human ex vivo skin platform: Genoskin’s non-clinical human skin platforms specialize in using donated skin, allowing for more relevant and translatable study results.
  • Immunocompetent platform: Our technology acts as a proxy for studying the immune system, offering an immunocompetent platform that enhances the depth and relevance of your studies.
  • Multiple donors per study: The ability to conduct studies on multiple donors ensures that the data generated is diverse and representative of either the general population or your target audience.
  • Multiple conditions for one donor: Genoskin allows for the study of multiple conditions within a single donor, providing a more comprehensive understanding of local immune reaction to your compound.