Strategic partnership will apply organ-chips to drug efficacy and safety

A strategic partnership has been formed between scientists from Emulate and Roche (F Hoffman La-Roche) for the application of organ-chips in the testing of the efficacy and safety of new antibody therapeutics and combination therapies.

The agreement will involve the use of Emulate’s Human Emulation System across Roche’s research and development programmes so that more human-relevant studies can be conceived, thus leading to earlier and better prediction of safety and efficacy of drug candidates.

The Human Emulation System comprises organ-chips, instrumentation and software apps that can be used in the discovery and development of new classes of therapeutic antibodies and drug combinations.

Additionally, the scientists will use this technology to further analyse disease mechanisms to increase predictability and early detection of biomarkers, and to reduce the use of animals in scientific testing.

“We are thrilled to establish this partnership with Roche, with the goal of changing the way drug discovery and development is done — from early discovery, all the way to the clinic,” said Geraldine A. Hamilton, president and chief scientific officer of Emulate. “Our approach is to start with the patient and end with the patient by using patient-derived cells with Organ-Chips. As we produce more human-relevant data with our Organ-Chips, we look forward to making a positive impact on informing R&D decisions, reducing drug candidate attrition in human clinical trials, and helping to deliver better and safer medicines to patients.”