Biopta Announces Launch of Industry’s First Catalogue of <em>In Vitro</em> Human Tissue Assays

Scottish company creates first searchable database of human pharmacological responses in functional intact tissues.

Biopta Ltd, the human tissue-based contract research organisation, recently announced a major development in discovery research with the launch of the first catalogue of assays based on human functional tissues. The catalogue serves to provide the scientific community with ready access to assays that improve the prediction of safety, absorption and efficacy of drug candidates in humans.

Ex vivo studies
Ex vivo human tissue studies play a key part in drug development, providing pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with a more predictive human model earlier in the development process. Many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have, up until now, depended solely on animal models; however, Biopta’s access to fresh functional human biomaterials means that early human tissue testing is increasingly becoming a routine part of preclinical drug discovery.

In vitro studies
Recently, Biopta announced that their research has generated a database of over 60 assays in a range of human fresh tissues. Biopta’s database is the first to build an in vitro library of human functional pharmacology using intact tissues. Biopta aims to fill the knowledge gap in preclinical testing by providing phenotypically-accurate assays that measure drug responses from healthy and diseased human tissue.

Dr David Bunton, Biopta’s CEO, said “The literature on human pre-clinical pharmacology is unacceptably sparse and too many decisions on early-stage compounds are made without considering translation to human biology. By illustrating the wide range of tissues and functional endpoints that are possible in human functional tissues, we hope to raise awareness that drug discovery can be de-risked at an early stage.”

Dr Ruth McLaughlin, Business Development Manager at Biopta, said “Biopta’s catalogue aims to provide important human biology data during early stage drug discovery. This library also serves as a valuable searchable resource for experimenters seeking human translational research. We will be continuing to add tissue types, functional biomarkers of drug response and different mechanisms of drug action over the coming months.”