In response, pharmaceutical companies are in the process of investing significant resources in research that will allow them to identify cardiac toxicity at early stages of drug testing. There is also a tremendous economic incentive: It is estimated that it costs, on average, $900 million to bring a new drug from the laboratory to the doctor's office. This new scrutiny impacts large classes of drugs, such as antibiotics, weight loss, anti-psychotic medications, heartburn medications, and some cancer and heart disease therapies, some of which have been pulled from the market or limited in use due to their tendency to prolong the QT interval.
COMPAS was designed to accurately identify ECG abnormalities, while taking into consideration other factors that may influence a person's heart activity, such as eating and stress. In fact, the FDA has purchased a license to the COMPAS software to evaluate its unique capabilities.
The new agreement pairs iCardiac Technologies a newly established Rochester-based company which is positioning itself as the leader in cardiac safety analytics to support pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and contract research companies with technology developed by the University's Heart Research Follow-up Program, an international leader in cardiovascular research.
"We are extremely pleased to be working with the University of Rochester, one of the premier institutions in the world for cardiac safety," said Alex Zapesochny, president and chief operating officer of iCardiac Technologies. "The Heart Research Follow-up Progra
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Contact: Mark Michaud
mark_michaud@urmc.rochester.edu
585-273-4790
University of Rochester Medical Center
26-May-2006