Solutions to challenges in the delivery to target tissues and cells

1. Assessment of the delivery to cells in target tissues (PK/PD analysis)

One possible cause of insufficient drug efficacy is poor delivery to cells in the target tissue.
Axcelead can address challenges in delivery by combining various methods and identify processes that lead to bottlenecks.
Based on the biophase PK and PD analysis results, it is firstly determined whether delivery can provide sufficient efficacy. In addition, dosing regimes for a pharmacological study can also be proposed.
navigate_next Assessment of drug efficiency using animal disease models


Assessment of plasma/organ concentrations
Rapid assessment of plasma and organ concentrations using state-of-the-art equipment

Owned LC/MS Instrument
・ Orbitrap Exploris 120  
  (ThermoScientific)


Assessment of intracellular localization
Assessment of intracellular behavior (e.g., endosomal escape) using fluorescence-labeled oligonucleotides and organelle markers

The amount of oligonucleotide that escaped from the endosome is assessed using image analysis software


Red: Oligonucleotide escaped from the endosome

Yellow: Oligonucleotide remaining in the lysosome

2. Design and synthesis of peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates

One solution to address challenges in delivery by nucleic acid drugs is the use of peptides. To overcome challenges in delivery to target tissues and cells, appropriate peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates are designed and synthesized.

Service contents:
▶Synthesis of cell-penetrating peptides and target receptor-binding peptides
▶Proposal of the optimal linker according to the characteristics of the peptides
▶Synthesis and purification of conjugates

Axcelead offers peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates that are tailored to our clients’ objectives by taking full advantage of our “infrastructure, technology and know-how” cultivated in the field of peptide drug discovery.

3.LNP formation and in vivo biodistribution analysis

Axcelead support development of in vitro/in vivo platforms customized for a client for new modalities.