The outlook for a Kent company, whose technology can dramatically improve drug safety, aid the discovery of new heart drugs and also reduce reliance of whole animal safety testing, looks very healthy after it announced a collaboration with a major Swedish biotech business.

In a move that will strengthen Kent Science Park’s community of science-based businesses, VivoMedica has agreed to work closely with Cellartis AB, one of the world’s most advanced stem cell companies. VivoMedica, which is listed on AIM, currently employs 11 people and first moved to Kent Science Park in 2005.

VivoMedica’s DrugPrint® technology helps pharmaceutical companies detect potentially fatal cardio-toxic side effects early on in the drug discovery process by measuring the electrical activity of heart cells when placed on a micro-electrode array.

The collaboration will see Cellartis AB, the world’s largest provider of ethically-derived human stem cell lines, extend VivoMedica’s DrugPrint® technology for use with heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) derived from human stem cells. The first project conducted at Cellartis’ facilities in Göteborg (Gothenberg) will involve a study to evaluate drug-induced changes on stem cell derived heart cells. The combination of stem cells and the sophisticated analytical capabilities of VivoMedica’s DrugPrint® system are expected to yield discriminatory power needed by the pharmaceutical and biotech industry and increasingly expected by the regulatory authorities.

The potential human and financial benefits for the pharmaceutical industry are significant. Peter Leyland, CEO of VivoMedica, commented: “The evaluation of the safety and toxicity profiles of new drugs, and indeed existing drugs, on the heart has become a paramount concern to the pharmaceutical industry. This collaboration is an exciting opportunity to combine our revolutionary technologies to develop a solution that could deliver significant benefits to the pharmaceutical industry. A further benefit of our technology is that by refining the drug discovery process it will enable the industry to reduce and replace the need for animal testing.”

Dr Johan Hyllner, CSO of Cellartis AB, said: “There is a great need for improved and clinically relevant in vitro models for predicting adverse effects of new drugs. Human stem cell based models in combination with advanced hardware and software have the potential to meet this need.”

News of the collaboration has been well received at Kent Science Park. James Speck, the Park’s Site Director, added: “VivoMedica is an excellent example of the great work being undertaken on site. Its technology has the potential to transform the way in which the pharmaceutical industry develops new drugs and ultimately improve how it operates.”