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Computers may predict drugs’ side effects

Cambridge lab aims to detect potential problems before tests on humans begin

By Carolyn Y. Johnson

 |  Globe Staff  

  June 11, 2012

Scientists at a biotech laboratory in Cambridge have developed a computer model to test drugs for adverse side effects before they are given to people in clinical trials. If proved successful, such an approach could be a significant step toward solving a major problem facing the pharmaceutical industry. Adverse drug reactions are a costly liability, causing about 20 percent of drugs in clinical development to fail, according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

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