Tackling chronic compound responses of hiPSC-CMs for preclinical cardiac risk evaluation: defined serum-free medium and long-term culture on the FLEXcyte 96

The use of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) continues to increase in the assessment of safety and toxicological side effects of newly developed compounds, due to their reproducibility and low ethical concern. In pre-clinical drug development, cardiac contraction analysis of potential drug candidates is one of the crucial steps to ensure a successful and reliable transition to clinical stages. Using hiPSC-CMs, the obstacles of an immature phenotype as well as the need of serum-containing media for chronic assays raise concerns over non-physiological responses in preclinical drug development.