FDA support for Emulate Liver-Chip, EPAA3Rs lunch debate at the European Parliament, CanChip for ovarian cancer and more
News on non-animal methods
SEPTEMBER 23 - 27, 2024NEWS, REPORTS & POSITION STATEMENTS
1. Emulate Liver-Chip accepted into the FDA ISTAND Pilot Program
The Emulate Liver-Chip has been accepted into the Innovative Science and Technology Approaches for New Drugs (ISTAND) Pilot Program—the first Organ-on-a-Chip technology to achieve this milestone. With this acceptance, the Liver-Chip will receive FDA support in the journey towards becoming a qualified Drug Development Tool (DDT) for predicting the safety of small-molecule drug candidates during preclinical testing.
Emulate is excited to begin collaborating with the FDA to develop a qualification plan, marking the next step in the three-stage DDT-qualification process. Participation in this program is a major part of Emulate commitment to advancing Organ-on-a-Chip technology and improving predictivity and safety in drug development.
2. An EU AI-Powered Leap into Human Biology-Based Research with FRESCI
The biomedical research landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, ushering in an era of precision, accuracy, and human-centric methodologies. Leading the charge in this transformative phase is the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre ambitious project, which places human biology-based models and methods at the heart of advancements in health research.
FRESCI by SCIENCE&STRATEGY provides scientific and management coordination to the consortium developing this project, which benefits the crucial collaboration of partners : TenWise B.V., Ready2Use srl, AlterTox srl and EcoMole sro. Harnessing the immense potential of AI and in recognition of the paramount importance of human-centric research, this consortium will create the EU’s first-ever public database, dedicated exclusively to human biology-based models.
3. EPAA3Rs lunch debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
On 17 September 2024, MEP Tilly Metz hosted the EPAA3Rs lunch debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. EPAA’s vision for safe and sustainable innovation without animal testing was presented, along with the challenges the partnership is addressing and its contribution to the European Commission Roadmap for phasing out animal testing in chemical safety assessments.
EPAA industry co-chair Gavin Maxwell and the European Commission co-chair Giulia Del Brenna were also available to answer questions from MEPs Sebastian Everding, Anja Hazekamp, Niels Fuglsang, Krzysztof Śmiszek and Lukas Sieper.
INTERVIEWS, NOMINATIONS & AWARDS
4. Orakl Oncology wins France Innovation Competitions “Grand Prix”
Orakl Oncology CEO Fanny Jaulin received the trophee from Lise Alter, Managing Director of the Health Innovation Agency for the France Innovation Competitions “Grand Prix”. The startup has been selected among the 177 exciting projects and 10 Grands Prix i‑Lab that will be supported through France 2030.
Labelled “Grand Prix” of the Pharmacy & Biotechnology theme of i‑Lab, Orakl Oncology team is committed to accelerate the discovery and ensure the clinical success of new oncology drugs through a unique collection of patient tumor avatars, to bring faster better drugs to each cancer patient. This i‑Lab project aims to further enhance their translational predictive capabilities and prepare the platform scale-up.
TOOLS, PLATFORMS, CALLS
5. Funding opportunity : Novel human in vitro models of complex disease
MRC and NC3Rs, in partnership with BBSRC and EPSRC, are collaborating to fund a consortium for novel human in vitro models of complex disease with the aim to improve the understanding of human disease mechanisms and better support therapeutic development for disease intervention ; overcome limitations of current in vivo and in vitro models to represent human (patho)physiology and disease heterogeneity ; and accelerate the development, validation and uptake of technologies and methods to accurately and reproducibly model human physiology and disease and reduce the reliance on animal models. In this initiative, the NC3Rs anticipates funding interdisciplinary research clusters for four years with a total fund of £10M.
During an online event scheduled on October 16th Drs Rachel Eyre (NC3Rs) and Holger Apitz (MRC) will give a presentation describing the overall aims of the funding opportunity, including the remit and scope, eligibility criteria and timelines.
6. Nominate Animal-free Research Pioneer and Early Career Scientist
For the third year running, nominations are now open for the Animal-Free Research UK (AFR UK) Pioneer Award 2025, which celebrates the outstanding contribution of trailblazing scientists who conduct research without using animals. The specially commissioned Pioneer Medal will be awarded to the winner for their contribution in helping to make animal free the gold standard in UK laboratories. They will also receive free attendance and be invited to deliver a keynote speech at AFR UK conference, which is taking place over 26 – 27th March 2025 in York.
Early Career Scientist Award 2025 celebrates and promotes the next generation of inspiring scientists who conduct research without the use of animals and have shown proof of a strong commitment to building their career around animal-free research. Alongside a certificate and a £500 bursary to further progress their animal-free career, the winner will receive free attendance and an invitation to speak at AFR UK conference.
7. The FC3R ‘Innovate, Replace, Share’ call for projects
The GIS FC3R is launching this new call for projects to promote the Replacement — total or partial — of the use of animals and animal by-products within French research and training institutes. Transdisciplinary, collaborative and common interest projects are strongly encouraged.
Opening : September 9, 2024 / Closing : December 2, 2024
Award : up to 50,000 euros per project
More info (FR)
Apply (FR)
INDUSTRY, BIOTECH & PARTNERSHIPS
8. CanChip : Microfluidic Platforms in diagnostic of ovarian cancer
September is ovarian cancer awareness month. Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until advanced stages due to nonspecific symptoms, making early diagnosis crucial for improving patient outcomes. Current diagnostic methods are limited by high costs and the need for specialized personnel.
Microfluidic platforms, such as the one developed at CanChip offer a promising solution for ovarian cancer diagnosis, providing high sensitivity, low reagent use, cost-effectiveness and a potential to significantly enhance early detection and monitoring of the disease.
9. Orakl Oncology : new partner of RHU ORGANOMIC
Founded by Fanny Jaulin, PhD, lead of the ORGANOMIC project, along with Gustave Ronteix and Diane-Laure Pagès, Orakl is an innovative startup at the forefront of cancer research. Their groundbreaking tumor avatar technology combines biological and digital components to predict patient response to treatments and revolutionize drug development. By improving clinical trial success rates, Orakl Oncology aims to expand patient access to cutting-edge treatments.
This partnership underscores Gustave Roussy’s entrepreneurial spirit and highlights the success of entrepreneurship support initiatives. Having already won multiple prestigious awards and raised several million euros in 2023, Orakl continues to grow, bringing together a team of experts in data science, bioinformatics, and cancer biology.
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES & PROTOCOLS
10. The bronchioid : a new cellular model for COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a relatively unknown, yet widespread, respiratory pathology. According to the WHO, it is the third leading cause of death worldwide. This pathology, which affects the small bronchial tubes, still lacks ideal models, which hampers the discovery and development of new therapies. In a new study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, researchers at the Bordeaux Cardio-Thoracic Research Center have developed a “bronchioid”, a cellular model capable of simulating both the state of a healthy bronchus and that of a bronchus affected by COPD.
What functions does this bronchioid manage to reproduce ? Isabelle Dupin, professor at the Institut Universitaire de France and the University of Bordeaux, provides the answer in this Radio France Podcast.
11. 3D printing to fabricate high-resolution meshed vessels in brain organoids
Brain organoids are widely used to model brain development and diseases. However, a major challenge in their application is the insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to the core region, restricting the size and maturation of the organoids. In order to vascularize brain organoids and enhance the nutritional supply to their core areas, a new study used two-photon polymerization 3D printing to fabricate high-resolution meshed vessels.
The vascularized organoids exhibit dimensional breaking growth and enhanced proliferation, reduced hypoxia and apoptosis, suggesting that the 3D-printed meshed vessels partially mimic vascular function to promote the culture of organoids. Furthermore, cortical, striatal and medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) organoids are respectively differentiated to generate Cortico-Striatal-MGE assembloids by 3D-printed vessels. The enhanced migration, projection and excitatory signaling transduction were observed between different brain regional organoids in the assembloids.
