Approaching Carbon-zero cardiac safety testing in drug development: Green Biology

Metrion Biosciences(“Metrion”)是一家总部设在英国的合同研究组织(CRO)，专门研究一类名为离子通道的人类蛋白质。该公司成立于2015年9月，为全球制药和生命科学行业提供早期药物研究和安全评估服务。Metrion将对离子通道目标类别的智力了解与早期药物发现专业知识的深度结合在一起，其中很大一部分药物发现知识是成功地获得的，为制药行业客户或行业本身提供服务。Metrion Bioscience的核心产品围绕着一种名为电生理学的技术，即评估和量化生物模型系统和自然组织细胞膜上的小电流和电压场的变化。Metrion的员工是世界上最有经验的离子通道科学家和自动膜片钳设备的用户之一，Metrion团队成员在药物发现研究的初期就开创了这项技术。Metrion一直在与FDA合作开展CIPA倡议工作组的工作，以开发一套强大的体外心脏离子通道(CIPA)分析方法，用于预测心律失常。Metrion公司将实施“绿色生物学”战略，开发一种用于药品监管目的的体外安全筛选服务。零碳方法将着眼于减少与该项目相关的直接和间接碳使用，包括废物(塑料制品/消耗品)、运输、水和能源使用(Carbon Trust‘s Guidance，2020)。

Metrion Biosciences ("Metrion") is a UK-based contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in a class of human proteins called ion channels. The company was formed in September 2015 and provides early stage pharmaceutical research and safety assessment services to the worldwide pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. Metrion combines intellectual understanding of the ion channel target class with depth of early stage drug discovery expertise, with a significant proportion of the drug discovery knowledge being gained successfully providing services to pharmaceutical industry clients or within the industry itself. Metrion Bioscience core product offering is centred around a technique known as electrophysiology, the assessment and quantification of small electrical currents and changes in voltage fields across the cell membranes of biological model systems and native tissues. Metrion's staff are amongst the most experienced ion channel scientists and users of automated patch clamp equipment in the world, with Metrion team members having pioneered the technique for drug discovery research during its infancy. Metrion have been working with the FDA on the CiPA initiative working party to develop a robust set of in vitro cardiac ion channel (CiPA) assays which would predict cardiac arrhythmias. Metrion will implement a "green biology" strategy for developing an in vitro safety screening service used for drug regulatory purposes. The zero-carbon approach would look at reducing direct and indirect carbon usage associated with this project, including waste (plasticware/consumables), transport, water, and energy usage (Carbon Trust's guidelines, 2020).