Advancing neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration research at Neuroscience 2025

‍We have today announced that we presented three new research posters at Neuroscience 2025, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), held in San Diego, California on 15-19 November. The studies demonstrate our expanding expertise in neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and translational cell models that enhance the predictivity of early drug discovery.

Advancing translational neuroscience and drug discovery

The three posters showcase how we apply physiologically relevant in-vitro and ex-vivo systems to model key mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases:

1. Development of a Drug Screening Cascade to Identify Novel Potent and Selective NLRP3 Inhibitors

This study establishes a validated, multi-stage phenotypic screening cascade for discovering next-generation NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors. Using human THP-1 cells, primary human macrophages, human iPSC-derived microglia, and organotypic brain slices, the workflow delivers integrated mechanistic and functional readouts to enhance translatability in early drug discovery.

2. In-Vitro Models of OPC Maturation and Myelination for Drug Discovery

This study introduces in-vitro assays that enable robust quantification of oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) proliferation, differentiation, and myelin formation. By combining High-Content and 3D Imaging with gene expression analysis and metabolite quantification, Concept Life Sciences established reproducible assays that capture the molecular and functional hallmarks of OPC maturation and myelination. These models provide a translational platform to evaluate compounds that may enhance remyelination in disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and ischemic stroke.

3. Leveraging iPSC-Derived Astrocytes to Accelerate the Discovery of Novel Drugs Targeting Neuroinflammation

Concept Life Sciences validated human iPSC-derived astrocytes as a reproducible model of reactive neurotoxic astrocytes, establishing a high-value assay for evaluating compounds that modulate neuroinflammatory pathways.

The posters can all be accessed here :

Concept Life Sciences | Poster | Development of a Drug Screening Cascade to Identify Novel Potent and Selective NLRP3 Inflammasome Inhibitors

Concept Life Sciences | Poster | Ex vivo and In Vitro Models of OPC Maturation and Myelination for Drug Discovery

Concept Life Sciences | Poster | Leveraging iPSC-derived Astrocytes to Accelerate the Discovery of Novel Drugs Targeting Neuroinflammation

‍Dr. Elise Malavasi, Neuroscience Associate Director at Concept Life Sciences, commented:

“Our work, presented at Neuroscience2025, highlighted how our integrated biology platforms enable a deeper understanding of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative mechanisms. By combining advanced human cell systems, primary cell-based assays, and 3Dmodels, we provide our partners with translational tools that de-risk discovery and accelerate progress toward clinical impact.”

New white paper: Building a complete picture of inflammasome activity

Ahead of its presentations at Neuroscience 2025, Concept Life Sciences launched a new white paper entitled “Advancing Inflammasome Drug Discovery: Building a Complete Picture of Inflammasome Activity for Therapeutic Success.”

The paper highlights the inflammasome as a high-value therapeutic target with the potential for intervention across a wide range of inflammatory, metabolic, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. It also focuses on the importance of using a suite of physiologically relevant assays across multiple inflammasome types and cell models to generate more disease-relevant and predictive data for drug discovery. Concept Life Sciences’ integrated assay portfolio supports a comprehensive understanding of inflammasome modulation — helping discovery teams make faster, more confident candidate selections and thereby accelerating drug discovery in the inflammation and immunology space.

The white paper can be accessed here : Concept Life Sciences | Whitepaper | Inflammasome Biology in Drug Discovery

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