131337Predictive phenotypic assays to better predict drug-induced cardiotoxicityClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKThe pharmaceutical industry is in urgent need of tests that are better able to predict the clinical effectiveness and safety of new drug therapies. Current approaches are over-reliant on animal models that may not reflect human responses to drugs and often do not select drugs that translate into safe, effective treatment of diseases. Indeed around 90% of drugs entering clinical trials fail to reach the market, with safety liabilities explaining 20% of the failures. To address this problem, Biopta is developing a range of predictive tests using ethically-donated human tissues. A major drug safety concern is cardiac safety and toxicity; Biopta has already developed and offers to the market robust assays to detect drug-mediated changes in coronary blood flow and contractility. The feasibility study will investigate whether this can be extended to provide the first commercially available tests that can predict drug-induced cardiac arrythymias.