New York, US – October 23, 2026 – Ace Therapeutics announced the availability of its expanded custom cough model development services, designed to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in advancing novel antitussive therapies from discovery through preclinical development. The service portfolio addresses the growing demand for translational research tools capable of evaluating drug candidates targeting chronic cough, including refractory chronic cough (RCC) and unexplained chronic cough (UCC), conditions representing significant unmet medical needs.
Ace Therapeutics’ approach centers on the premise that standardized cough models, while useful for initial screening, often fail to capture the nuances of specific disease phenotypes and endotypes. Ace Therapeutics provides custom cough model development services tailored to the specific mechanisms of each client’s drug candidate, ensuring that the efficacy data generated are relevant to the intended target patient population—whether that involves neurogenic inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness, or cough hypersensitivity syndrome.
A Diverse Portfolio of Cough Animal Models
Ace Therapeutics offers a range of established and customizable cough animal models to suit various research objectives. These models are characterized using state-of-the-art techniques to ensure reproducibility and translational relevance.
The guinea pig cough model, widely used in cough research, involves inhalation of tussive agents, such as citric acid, capsaicin, and bradykinin. Key readouts include cough frequency, latency, and expiratory parameters, making this model ideal for testing antitussives targeting both peripheral and central pathways.
For studies requiring longitudinal assessment, the guinea pig chronic cough model combines allergen sensitization (e.g., ovalbumin) or irritant exposure (e.g., cigarette smoke) with tussive challenges. This model recapitulates cough hypersensitivity associated with inflammatory conditions and allows for repeated evaluation of airway inflammation and cough sensitivity over time.
Because mice do not reliably exhibit cough, Ace Therapeutics offers a murine respiratory reflex model that uses refined techniques to assess respiratory reflexes and sensory nerve activation. This model is suitable for early target validation studies and involves challenges with agents such as capsaicin or ATP in conscious or anesthetized animals.
Additionally, Ace Therapeutics provides in vitro vagal nerve and sensory neuron models based on primary culture of jugular and nodose ganglia neurons from rodents. These high-throughput screening-compatible systems measure calcium influx, action potential firing, and neurotransmitter release to assess direct effects on the cough reflex arc.
Integrated Downstream Services
Recognizing that a model’s value lies in the data it generates, Ace Therapeutics offers a suite of integrated downstream services that can be layered onto its model platforms. These include pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic assessments for quantifying drug exposure and target engagement in plasma and lung tissue, airway inflammation profiling through bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis and cytokine/chemokine multiplex assays, histopathology and immunohistochemistry for assessing nerve fiber density and neuropeptide expression, and respiratory function testing via whole-body plethysmography (e.g., Penh as an indirect measure) or invasive measurements of airway resistance and compliance.
As a respiratory disease CRO, Ace Therapeutics provides custom model development services and a comprehensive portfolio of preclinical research solutions to support drug discovery and development programs targeting chronic cough and related respiratory conditions. Ace Therapeutics is committed to delivering scientific excellence, operational flexibility, and collaborative partnerships to address the toughest challenges in cough research.
About Ace Therapeutics
Ace Therapeutics is a specialized preclinical contract research organization (CRO) providing customized disease models and integrated preclinical research services across multiple therapeutic areas. The company supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology research programs through services including efficacy evaluation, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis, toxicology studies, biomarker research, histopathology, and disease model development. Its respiratory disease research capabilities include customized animal models and analytical workflows designed to support the preclinical investigation of chronic cough and other respiratory disorders.
Media Contact
Company Name: Ace Therapeutics
Contact Person: Daisy Mostert
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: https://www.acetherapeutics.com/
