Clyde Biosciences Ltd., a Glasgow, UK-based developer of technology to evaluate drug toxicity for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, raised £2m in Series A funding.
The round was led by Epidarex Capital, with participation from the Scottish Investment Bank and Glasgow University Holdings.
A spin-out company from the University of Glasgow. Clyde Biosciences is developing the CellOPTIQ optical action potential assay to address major unmet needs in testing cardiotoxicity risk in both new and existing drugs. Its approach uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to mimic cardiomyocyte activity and measure action potential features which are important indicators of cardiotoxicity. Changes in action potential are visualized using voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs) and are measured and analyzed on tissue culture plates using proprietary software.
CellOPTIQ is currently being evaluated by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) through its Comprehensive In Vitro Proarrhythmia (CiPA) program. Initial focus is on testing for cardiotoxicity risk.
The company’s founders include CEO Dr. Margaret Anne Craig, Professor Godfrey Smith, Dr. Francis Burton and Professor Jon Cooper, all of the University of Glasgow.
FinSMEs
13/04/2015