“Neuron as a sensor”

Image credits : Comité scientifique Pro Anima / Axel Coquemon

Project summary

NETRI’s “Neuron as a Sensor” project aims to address the critical issues of drug efficacy, chemical toxicity and the scientific and ethical limitations of animal testing. Using a microfluidic platform that uses neurons as sensors to generate digital biological signatures, this innovative tool, combined with artificial intelligence, makes it possible to assess a wide range of compounds and chemicals.

This approach offers a more predictive, ethical and humane method, transforming drug screening, chemical risk assessment and diagnostics. Effective for conditions such as Alzheimer’s and neuropathic pain, this revolutionary technology is helping to reduce reliance on animal testing while improving the accuracy and efficiency of biomedical research.

Image credits : NETRI

Key advantages

• A system that can discriminate the effect of compounds on humans without using animals, based on a digital library that is enriched and refined with each use.
• For manufacturers, a unique system capable of addressing several types of needs and markets
• For technicians, a pump- and tube-free system that can be integrated into existing processes

Aims

1. Testing a wide range of substances in order to refine predictive accuracy and broaden applicability.
2. Develop and validate artificial intelligence tools to analyse and separate the signals recorded in the digital library.
3. Improve understanding of the correlation between digital signatures and clinical data in order to demonstrate the predictivity of this platform.

Image credits : NETRI

Timeline 

T+6 months : PoC of discrimination between pharmaceutical compounds inducing acute and/or chronic pain as a side effect.

T+12 months : PoC on the applicability of the technology for chemical risk prediction (in collaboration with ANSES).

T+12 months : Increasing the complexity of the Neuron as a Sensor platform by adding the biological structures needed to model several organs.

T+18 months : Second wave of patient CSF tests.

T+24 months : Establishment and use of a digital library of several dozen compounds.

Laureates’ bio

Benoît Maisonneuve is Product Owner at NETRI. With a double doctorate in rheology and bioengineering, he has pioneered technologies ranging from brain-on-a-chip and age-related disease modelling to 3D hydrogel fabrication and CRISPR/Cas9 strategies. His corporate background includes clinical trial and pharmaceutical project management (for drugs in clinical trials and commercial specialties).

Thibault Honegger is the CEO and co-founder of NETRI. A graduate of Ecole Centrale de Nantes, he obtained his PhD in Biotechnology at LTM (CNRS/Université Grenoble Alpes/CEA) in 2011. Thibault Honegger was a post-doctoral researcher at MIT, Boston, USA, for two years, where he developed and studied axonal guidance in microfluidic devices and created the first technological building blocks for NETRI. He then joined the CNRS as a research fellow in Grenoble to lead the microfluidic neuroengineering team. He has published over 40 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is the inventor of 12 patents, has been awarded several research grants including an ERC Starting Grant in 2016. He co-founded Peerus in 2015, Linkio in 2015, Smart Force Technologies in 2016 and Lys Therapeutics in 2021.