SANOFI-SUPPORTED BIOSTAR SPONSORED RESEARCH PROJECT - 2013

Joseph Wu (Medicine)
Russ Altman (Bioengineering)

The introduction of safe and efficacious drug therapies is critical for improving the quality of healthcare. New drugs are also plagued by unexpected adverse events. Many adverse events result from genetic variations that alter the expected response to drugs. Long QT syndrome is a change in the electrocardiogram (EKG) associated with syncope and sudden cardiac arrest. It can result from hereditary genetic causes or from exposure to drugs. Indeed, genetic variations can also increase the probability that drugs will cause Long QT. In this proposal, we outline a plan to create human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC‐CMs) from patients with known genetic background of Long QT, characterize the EP properties of these cells, and conduct experiments with drugs known to induce arrhythmias to establish a robust screening platform. If successful, our technology can accelerate the drug screening and safety process, which is important for any types of pharmaceutical research and development.