Nexxus Scotland

Biopta Ltd

Biopta specialises in conducting highly-accurate bioassays of living human tissue samples for potentially marketable drug compounds.

A spin-out company from Glasgow Caledonian University, Biopta was set up in 2002 with the intent of developing technology which could reduce the 85 per cent failure rate of drugs in clinical trials.

The company has won numerous awards for innovation for its patented technology, including a Scottish Enterprise Proof Of Concept Award, a regional John Logie Baird Award and a Scottish Executive SMART Award.

Biopta's inception in 2002 was the result of an innovative idea for testing drug candidates before they progressed to clinical trials. The company has developed a unique method of testing compounds in vitro with great accuracy, and is currently working on advancing the technology to a stage where it can be fully commercialised.

Traditional methods of drug testing relied heavily on electronics and imaging techniques, which were costly and slow. Images of tissue were captured as they changed in response to administered drugs, but this method proved unreliable at later stages in the testing process.

Biopta has developed and patented technology which allows a more accurate picture of the effects of a given compound to be created, so as to more effectively assess the likely clinical effectiveness - and safety - of a drug candidate.

This unique technology works by passing varying frequencies of LED light through living, functional tissue samples. Using living tissue is in itself something of a pioneering technique; scientists at Biopta use tiny samples, often no thicker than a human hair, from different sources including blood vessels, airways and heart muscle, depending on requirements.

One of the difficulties of imaging techniques is that the internal dimensions of tubular tissues, such as blood vessels, are difficult to capture. Using Biopta's technique, however, some frequencies of LED penetrate the tissue and some are absorbed, making it possible to measure the dimensional changes which are taking place inside.

Another major advantage of Biopta's technique is that the subject tissue is cannulated, allowing the drug to be delivered precisely to where it would reach if taken orally or by injection.

The commercial possibilities of this technology are vast. Professor Chris Hillier, part of the team who developed the technology at Glasgow Caledonian University with the assistance of a Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Award, says: "If a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company is developing new compounds or needs proof of concept in humans before clinical trials, this technology can offer them earlier verification of predicted therapeutic responses and the identification of unexpected adverse effects."

"Investing in any new drug for clinical trial is a major gamble, but this technology can remove some of the risk and costs involved."

Where the technology will really come into its own is during the later stages of drug tests. At the moment there exists a bottleneck just before the stage of clinical trials which Biopta have the capability, if not yet the capacity, to remedy.

They have developed the technology, techniques and expertise to perform complex bioassays with peak accuracy - the challenge they face now is to automate the process sufficiently to service the demands of the market.

To meet this challenge, the company is currently working closely with Wideblue, a division of Polaroid, to develop the automated technology which will allow them to increase their throughput.

In the meantime, Biopta sub-contract their skills to companies with drugs in development who need to collect data on how their compound behaves within living human tissue.

Naturally, conducting experiments on living human tissue is an emotive subject, which is why Biopta work closely with the NHS to ensure that all human tissue used in drug analyses is ethically donated with fully-informed consent.

This is a vital part of the process, and networks such as those available via the NHS and the life sciences community generally are a large part of what keeps Biopta in the West of Scotland. Prof. Hillier says: "There are fantastic clinical networks in the West of Scotland; it is very proactive in developing robust networks for access to ethically-donated human tissue."

He admits he is excited by the prospect of what can be achieved with the technology Biopta have developed: "The dream is to have a fully-automated drug discovery process which takes you from the chemistry to the clinical trials. There is still some innovation to be done, but we are active in carrying out our own R&D and we believe we will be able to build on what we have achieved so far to revolutionise how drugs are tested before they reach the market."

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