# Establishing the market-readiness of an in vivo technology for assessing drug toxicity-induced tissue damage

> **NIH NIH R41** · DURAMETRIX LLC · 2021 · $257,175

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In drug R&D it is critical to be able to understand toxicity and to identify and eliminate overly toxic candidates.
However, there is a significant technological gap for in vivo toxicity testing. To address this challenge, we
developed a novel imaging-based approach that detects toxicity-induced tissue injury in a minimally invasive,
whole body and dynamic fashion. The invention and development of the technology has had a substantial
academic track record by our scientists; and its commercialization is driven by a strong market need, technical
expertise and marketing know-how. The goal of the current Phase I STTR grant is twofold: 1) to determine the
sensitivity and specificity of our imaging technology, and 2) to establish a user-friendly report system which
summarizes and presents the findings to end users who have a general drug R&D background. The
accomplishment of our goal will enable us to launch a market-ready service package with user accessibility.
Overall, this in vivo imaging approach identifies an important marker for drug toxicity on a personalized basis
with an objective and quantitative metric. The early detection of drug toxicity in susceptible tissues will help make
timely decisions in drug R&D by prioritizing safe and efficacious candidates.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10138258
- **Project number:** 1R41GM140538-01
- **Recipient organization:** DURAMETRIX LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Edward Johnson
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $257,175
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-02-02 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10138258

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10138258, Establishing the market-readiness of an in vivo technology for assessing drug toxicity-induced tissue damage (1R41GM140538-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10138258. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*