In collaboration with Dr. Gordon Keller, one of the world’s leading stem cell researchers, biotech company VistaGen Therapeutics is developing a novel human liver cell-based bioassay system, LiverSafe3D™.
VistaGen believes it can use its technology to provide clinically relevant biological information about a new drug candidate early in the drug development process, before time and money are spent on clinical trials.
To do this, VistaGen focuses on applying proprietary human pluripotent stem cell technology for technology for drug rescue, predictive toxicology, and drug metabolism screening. The LiverSafe3D system is designed to predict liver toxicity and metabolism issues in connection with VistaGen’s drug rescue activities.
In a poster presentation entitled “Semi–quantitative assay of CYP3A4 allows the identification and selection of mature human stem cell derived hepatocytes,” Dr. Kristina Bonham, senior scientist, Hepatocyte Biology Project Leader, earlier this year presented data indicating that the LiverSafe 3D bioassay can monitor the induction of the key metabolic enzyme, CYP3A4, and its expression level.
This data suggests that VistaGen’s liver cells contain functional properties of mature adult liver cells, which would allow for multiple functional analyses and provides a system to evaluate the effects of drug candidates on CYP3A4 expression and liver function.
For more information, visit www.VistaGen.com
Let us hear your thoughts: