HemoShear, a human disease biology company, has formed a research collaboration with Medivir of Stockholm, Sweden, an emerging research-based pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases.

The collaboration will explore the application of HemoShear's platform. HemoShear will characterize biological mechanisms and the effects of drug candidates on liver tissue using the company's first-in-class human liver system. The HemoShear human liver system accurately replicates in vivo physiological conditions, enabling a more precise and definitive assessment of targets and drug candidates, drug-induced changes in biology and pharmacological responses.

"Meaningful improvements in the safety and efficacy of drug candidates are possible when they are evaluated and designed using systems that more closely replicate human physiology," said Brett Blackman, HemoShear co-founder and chief scientific officer. "Our collaboration with Medivir will allow them to develop a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of action underlying compounds that target the liver."

The collaboration with Medivir also will leverage and contribute to the set of drug exposure data HemoShear is creating as part of an ongoing program funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), a division of the NIH. This initiative, which began in late 2013, is intended to demonstrate that use of more human-relevant systems can more accurately predict the safety of new drug candidates well before the costly clinical stages of drug development.