London, UK, November 1 2017: Organ-on-a-Chip specialist CN Bio Innovations Limited announces a research collaboration with global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to validate a new in vitro research tool that enables the high throughput evaluation of multi-drug dosing regimens.
Under the collaboration, CN Bio will leverage intellectual property and technologies recently licensed by the company from Vanderbilt University, to mimic in vivo drug exposure in an in vitro system. The in vitro results will be compared with previous in vivo experiments conducted by AstraZeneca, to establish whether, in future, the use of certain animal studies can be reduced or replaced by these new in vitro capabilities.
Multi-drug therapies, treatments comprising two or more medicines, are increasingly being used to treat infectious disease, chronic diseases and cancer. Choosing which drugs to combine and the dosage frequency that will be most effective in treating disease while minimising any side effects can be extremely challenging. The high number of potential regimens that might be evaluated means that animal studies are not suited for such purposes.
Chief Executive Officer of CN Bio, Dr Emma Sceats said: “CN Bio is delighted to be collaborating with AstraZeneca to advance the development of this new in vitro research tool that could improve the chances that the best multi-drug regimens will reach patients.”
Dr Lorna Ewart, Head of Microphysiological Systems Centre of Excellence at AstraZeneca’s IMED Biotech Unit, said: “This new technology, which complements the work we are already doing with CN Bio in the area of Organs-on-Chips, has the potential to significantly improve on how we optimise drug scheduling and combination studies.”
–ENDS–
About CN Bio Innovations
CN Bio Innovations develops devices that boost the precision and speed of biological research. By predicting the effects chemical and biological substances will have on human organs, researchers can fast-track improvements in healthcare. In the past 4 years CN Bio has worked on more than 25 projects with pharmaceutical partners, using our Organs-on-Chips and related microfluidic devices to gather precise, human-relevant data.
CN Bio is backed by prestigious grant awards from sponsors including the US Department of Defence and Innovate UK. Spun out from the University of Oxford, the company is collaborating with and developing intellectual property from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University.
Media enquiries:
Renate Krelle
renate.krelle@oxfordtechmarketing.com
Susan McQuillan
susan.mcquillan@cn-bio.com
+44 (0) 1707 358739