The Safety Pharmacology Society salary survey

Introduction Safety pharmacology is a growing discipline with scientists broadly distributed across international geographical regions. This electronic salary survey is the first to be distributed amongst the entire Safety Pharmacology Society (SPS) membership. An electronic survey was sent to all members of the Society. Categorical survey questions assessed membership employment types, annual incomes, and professional certifications, along with other associated career attributes. Methods This survey was distributed to the SPS membership that is comprised of safety pharmacologists, toxicologists and pharmacologists working globally in the pharmaceutical industry, at contract research organizations (CRO), regulatory agencies, and academia or within the technology provider industry. The survey was open for responses from December 2015 to March 2016. Results The survey response rate was 28% (129/453). North America (68%) was the region with the largest number of respondents followed by Europe (28%). A preponderance of respondents (77%) had 12 years of industry experience or more. 52% of responders earned annually between $40,000 and$120,000. As expected, salary was generally positively correlated with the number of years of experience in the industry or the educational background but there was no correlation between salary and the number of employee's directly supervised. The median salary was higher for male vs female respondents, but so was median age, indicative of no gender ‘salary gap’. Discussion Our 2016 SPS salary survey results showcased significant diversity regarding factors that can influence salary compensation within this discipline. These data provided insights into the complex global job market trends. They also revealed the level of scientific specialization embedded within the organization, presently uniquely positioned to support the dynamic career paths of current and future safety pharmacologists

Next generation cardiac safety testing through the Comprehensive in vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) paradigm

For the last decade, cardiac safety screening to evaluate the propensity of drugs to produce QT interval prolongation and Torsades de Pointes (TdP) arrhythmia has been conducted according to the ICH-S7B and ICH-E14 guidelines. hERG channel assays and in vivo QT measurements have been central to the existing approach. While effective, the present paradigm carries a risk of unnecessary compound attrition and high cost, especially when “thorough QT” (TQT) studies are initiated. The Comprehensive in vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) initiative is a public-private collaboration with the aim of updating the existing cardiac safety testing paradigm in order to better evaluate arrhythmia risk and remove the need for TQT testing. It is hoped that CiPA will produce a standardized ion channel assay approach, incorporating defined tests against major cardiac ion channels, the results of which then inform evaluation of proarrhythmic actions in silico, using human ventricular action potential models. These results are then to be validated using human (stem-cell derived) cardiomyocytes. This article reviews the rationale, progress of and challenges for the CiPA initiative, if this new paradigm to replace existing practice and, in time, lead to updated and widely accepted cardiac safety testing guidelines

INSPIRE : a European training network to foster research and training in cardiovascular safety pharmacology

Safety pharmacology is an essential part of drug development aiming to identify, evaluate and investigate undesirable pharmacodynamic properties of a drug primarily prior to clinical trials. In particular, cardiovascular adverse drug reactions (ADR) have halted many drug development programs. Safety pharmacology has successfully implemented a screening strategy to detect cardiovascular liabilities, but there is room for further refinement. In this setting, we present the INSPIRE project, a European Training Network in safety pharmacology for Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), funded by the European Commission's H2020-MSCA-ITN programme. INSPIRE has recruited 15 ESR fellows that will conduct an individual PhD-research project for a period of 36 months. INSPIRE aims to be complementary to ongoing research initiatives. With this as a goal, an inventory of collaborative research initiatives in safety pharmacology was created and the ESR projects have been designed to be complementary to this roadmap. Overall, INSPIRE aims to improve cardiovascular safety evaluation, either by investigating technological innovations or by adding mechanistic insight in emerging safety concerns, as observed in the field of cardio-oncology. Finally, in addition to its hands-on research pillar, INSPIRE will organize a number of summer schools and workshops that will be open to the wider community as well. In summary, INSPIRE aims to foster both research and training in safety pharmacology and hopes to inspire the future generation of safety scientists