In collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive, organ-on-a-chip developer Draper has unveiled a gum tissue model that can sustain gum tissue viability for up to 28 days. The timeline far exceeded that of previous models. The research was featured in Communications Biology, an imprint of Nature. Else Vedula, a senior researcher at Draper, described the gum tissue model…
Omics is helping unleash the utility of organ on a chip technology
Organ-on-a-chip technology, which simulates the function of an organ or an organ system, has steadily evolved over the past decade. The promise of the technology has evolved as well, said Timothy Petrie, head of strategy and business development, pharmaceutical R&D technologies at Draper (Cambridge, Mass). In the beginning, it seemed like the central appeal of…
Drug discovery evolves: Jump-starting the transition from animal models to human preclinical models
Animal models, long the basis of academic research and preclinical drug discovery, continue to play an important role in advancing our understanding of basic pharmacology and bringing critical therapies to those in need. However, animal models have some natural drawbacks (e.g., not being humans) that hamper their ability to fully predict the interaction of new…
Why Emulate launched a colon intestine chip
Emulate has debuted what it terms a “colon intestine chip” targeted at pharma and biotech companies, academics and other researchers. The company believes the system will accelerate the identification of drug candidates to treat inflammatory damage in the colon. The technology could be a boon for understanding inflammatory bowel disease, which approximately 1.6 million people in…
Organ-chips could streamline drug development, but hurdles remain
While organ-on-a-chip technology has evolved tremendously over the past 15 years, adoption of the technology remains at an early stage. But as organ-chip technology advances and the R&D costs for pharma companies continue to hover near unsustainable levels, organ-on-a-chip technology has the promise to address what cell biologist and bioengineer Donald Ingber called the “broken”…
As organs-on-chips advance, their potential for drug discovery grows
Engineered microchips with living human cells have the potential to accelerate drug development and replace animal testing, said Dr. Donald Ingber, the founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. The organ-on-a-chip technology could also enable the industry to rethink its business model, Ingber said in a webinar from the…