Press Release

Cell culture medium, autoimmune disease, rheumatism, immune response inhibitor drug treatment use 

Arthritis, a disease that causes pain due to inflammation between joints, is caused by aging and excessive use of joints. However, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which immune cells invade the joints, causing repeated inflammation and pain.

Rheumatism occurs about three times more often in women than in men, and although the exact cause is not known, it is known that female hormones, heredity, stress, and drugs have an effect. This is because the inflamed joint swells, and as the symptom 

progresses, several joints swell and a hot sensation is felt. Rather than pain appearing only on one side, the pain appears 

symmetrically on both sides.

Recently, cell culture media applied in the biopharmaceutical field are being used to treat rheumatism. Cell culture media is a 

composition containing animal cells for biopharmaceutical production, nutrients and growth factors used to proliferate or 

maintain the function of cell therapy products. This creates an environment in which cells can proliferate in accordance with the 

characteristics of each cell outside the body.

Because rheumatism is an autoimmune disease, immune response suppressants must be administered to suppress cells that 

cause excessive immune responses and regulate the immune system. In this process, cell culture media can be used for the 

development of inhibitors, and rheumatism patients must continue treatment by consistently administering the drug.

However, the requirement to take medication for life is leading to the burden of treatment costs and the limitation of 

manufacturers having to produce large quantities relative to manufacturing costs. In addition, the type of cell culture medium used affects the quality of biopharmaceuticals as well as productivity and manufacturing costs, so complex aspects must be taken 

into consideration.

‘Ajinomoto Genexine’, Korea’s leading cell culture medium specialist company, is currently supplying the ‘CELLiST’ series based on its cell culture medium manufacturing technology and know-how both domestically and internationally. This series is suitable for most CHO cell lines, meeting cell growth speed and protein production capacity at the same time, enabling rapid response to 

market changes. It also helps produce large amounts of protein at a reasonable price, allowing the use of cell culture media to 

be applied to a variety of distributions.

In the case of rheumatism, it is a disease that requires long-term treatment and management, not short-term, and because it 

requires administration of drugs that suppress immune responses, the application of Cellist cell culture medium can increase 

expectations of treatment.

An official from Ajinomoto Genexine said, “There is a burden on treatment for rheumatism because symptoms improve and 

relapse repeatedly without the concept of cure, and our Cellist cell culture medium is raising expectations for burden of 

treatment costs and prevention of recurrence. “We plan to continue research and development to help.”