Ncardia cardiac screening services and tools for efficient drug discovery
Ncardia – Stem Cell Experts
The most prominent issue facing pharmaceutical R&D is the continuing late-stage failures of drug candidates. Though novel technologies and screening techniques have continued to provide researchers with more information and predictive tools, getting drugs into the clinic is less efficient than it has been in the past.
The major cause for drug attrition can be attributed to safety and toxicity concerns that were not identified during preclinical development. To address these concerns, well-characterized/validated and quality controlled human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cells are now commercially available in large, quality controlled lots. These cells provide a flexible, cost-effective and, typically, more predictive and physiologically relevant cellular environment than immortalized cell lines or even primary rodent models.
Ncardia believes that stem cell technology will help to get better medicines to patients faster. The company is based in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and in the USA. It is privately held and established following the merger of Pluriomics and Axiogenesis.
The company develops, produces and commercializes highly predictive human cellular assay systems for safety and efficacy testing. The cardiac product portfolio encompasses a broad panel of hiPSC derived Cardiomyocytes (Pluricyte®, Cor.4U® and vCor.4U®) as well cardiac fibroblasts (FibroCor.4U®). In addition, the company delivers the Cardioplate™ product line of quality controlled ready to use assay plates.
The neural cell portfolio contains the pan-neuronal product CNS.4U, the peripheral neurons product Peri.4U®, and astrocyte product Astro.4U®.
Ncardia is committed to deliver its clients working assays solutions through in house assay development and extensive support. The company has a wide range of supported applications and compound assay services such as of electrophysiology, biochemistry and contraction based assays for predictive safety pharmacology and toxicology testing.
Webinar attendees will gain insight into how Ncardia works closely with pharma, biotech and academia to provide a number of capabilities in a “one stop shop†for preclinical drug discovery.
First, Dr. Stefan Braam, CEO of Ncardia, will give a brief introduction to the company, its product portfolio and the wide range of supported applications and compound assay services.
Our second speaker Dr. Courtney Miller from The Scripps Research Institute will present her work to drive MedChem efforts in a fascinating project using cardiomyocyte contractility as an endpoint to drive efficacy/target potency in the CNS for modulation of memories.
Afterwards, Dr. Stephane Bedut will provide examples of his work on calcium transients and membrane potential measurements in hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.
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Presented by
Stefan Braam,
CEO of Ncardia
Dr. Stefan Braam brings Ncardia over a decade of experience in stem cell research, product development and general management. Before the appointment as CEO of Ncardia, Stefan was the Chief Executive Officer of Pluriomics. As co-founder and key inventor of Pluriomics technologies he has been instrumental in the establishment and growth of the company.
Earlier in his career, Stefan obtained a MSc and PhD (both cum laude) in stem cell biology under supervision of Prof. Dr Mummery and obtained international experience in labs in the UK and Australia. Stefan won the NGI venture challenge (2009), the Niaba biobusiness Masterclass (2010), published in multiple leading scientific journals, secured multiple grants and commercial research collaborations and was with increasing responsibilities instrumental in Pluriomics’ pre-seed, seed, Series A and B financing rounds.
Courtney Miller, PhD,
Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine & Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute
Dr. Courtney Miller is an associate professor at The Scripps Research Institute where she runs a research program focused on developing therapeutics for memory disorders, including Alzheimer's, PTSD, and drug addiction. After earning her doctorate in neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Miller served as scientific director of a behavioral characterization core at UAB where she lead a discovery team of scientists focused on central nervous system disorders.
She has won a Presidential Early Career Award and her research has been highlighted by The Economist, Time magazine, CBS and Discovery, with Seed Magazine proclaiming one of her discoveries to be a "Top 10 Scientific Discovery of the year."
Stephane Bedut, PhD,
Senior scientist, Scientific service provider in site at VWR Catalyst
Dr. Stephane Bedut works as a scientific service provider in site in VWR Catalyst for a biotechnology department of the Institut de recherches Servier. He is mainly involved in in vitro cellular models and middle to high-throughput assay development for drug screening (characterization and safety). In his work he is particularly focusing on cardiomyocytes and neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.
After he obtained his PhD at the University of Tours, France, for his work on cardiac physiology and electrophysiology, Dr. Bedut joined the cardiovascular department of the Institut de Recherches Servier where he was responsible for the patch-clamp experiments.
