CN Bio selected for NC3R’s SensOoChip Challenge to develop advanced Heart-on-a-Chip

Part of the wider CRACK IT scheme – the multi-challenge competition aims to leverage CN Bio’s existing OOC expertise – our MPS development and optimization knowledge and our leading Liver-on-a-Chip model.

Image: PhysioMimix® Liver-on-a-Chip model

We’re excited to announce that NC3Rs, a UK-based scientific organization dedicated to helping the research community worldwide to replace, refine, and reduce (3Rs) the use of animals in research and testing, has selected us to join Phase I of its SensOoChip challenge, aimed at improving the utility and reproducibility of connected OOC models by integrating real-time multiparametric monitoring – all part of our mission to reduce reliance on animal testing! This is a three-phase mega-challenge, with funding for up to five years, is sponsored by several high-profile names in the industry, including AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, GSK, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Novartis, and UCB.

The SensOoChip challenge is part of the organization’s wider CRACK IT scheme – a multi-challenge competition that funds collaborations between industry, academia, and SMEs to advance research into the 3Rs and the development of new alternative methodologies (NAMs).

Kicking things off with an initial 9-month project, the Challenge aims to capitalize on the advances already made in the OOC field; focusing on three core objectives that will utilize our expertise in the development of microphysiological systems and our industry-leading Liver-on-a-Chip model:

• Integration of real-time, multiparametric monitoring of an established liver OOC system to increase the quantity and quality of data collected
• Connection and monitoring of a second organ – the heart
• Demonstration that the multiparametric datasets generated can be interrogated and modeled to improve understanding of the local physiological environment, reproducibility of OOCs, and the effect of drug administration

Real-time multiparametric monitoring of OOC models is a key milestone in the journey to fully understanding the microenvironment, gaining deeper insights into ADME and toxicity studies, and developing more advanced disease models. A core part of the project will be the development of minimally invasive sensors that collect an array of data from the OOC model. When integrated into a heart/liver multi-organ model, the sensors will provide key information for studies such as cardiotoxicology – a principal cause of drug failures.

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