Our analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for the pharma sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising organ-on-a-chip companies.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Organ on a Chip Startups
Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 3 790 000+ startups & scaleups globally, we identified 58 organ on a chip companies. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 5 innovative startups you should watch as well as the geo-distribution of all OOC startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research.
Based on the heat map, we see high startup activity in the US and Europe, followed by India and East Asia. This organ on a chip companies list covers solutions ranging from drug screening to stem cell platforms and multi-organ on a chip.
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Explore 5 Top Organ on a Chip Companies
Tissue Dynamics – Drug Screening
Organ-on-a-chip systems are microfluidic cell cultures that mimic the activity, mechanics, and physiological response of an organ or organ system. Startups are working on these systems intending to replace animal testing in drug development. Moreover, since these systems use human cells, the pharmacokinetic (PK) response is expected to be more similar to results in human patients than in animal models.
Israeli startup Tissue Dynamics offers drug toxicity and efficacy screening solutions. The startup uses an ethnically diverse library of proliferating hepatocyte lines to produce organs-on-chips. These solutions reduce research and development (R&D) costs and increase the safety and efficacy of drug screening. In addition to serving the pharma industry, Tissue Dynamics also serves the nutraceutical and cosmetic industries.
Altis Biosystems – Stem Cell Platform
Advances in stem cell technology allow researchers to bio-fabricate entire tissues or organs on a scaffold. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in particular, are paving the way for autologous cell-based therapies as a treatment for a range of degenerative diseases.
Unlike traditional cell culture, organs-on-chips recreate the three-dimensional (3D) morphology and environment of actual organs. This improves the disease modeling process and leads to safer and more efficacious drugs.
The US-based startup Altis Biosystems builds a stem cell platform to recreate the human intestinal epithelium. RepliGut is an organ-on-a-chip system that contains stem and differentiated cells in a patent-pending biomimetic scaffold. The solution allows customization for the regional specificity of the small intestine and colon from multiple donors.
Moreover, the platform finds applications in compound screening, clinical drug investigation, and microbiome research.
Bi/ond – Organoids
Organoids are miniaturized versions of organs that usually self-organize in vitro from patient-derived cells. Incorporating crucial tissues of an organ in a simple, yet realistic model offers a platform for visual and chemical inspection of changes in organs when subjected to different treatments. Startups are exploring organoid-on-a-chip solutions to improve disease models and offer personalized medicine.
Dutch startup Bi/ond develops customizable organ-on-a-chip solutions for in vitro assays. inCHIPit comprises an open well where tissues reside, a porous membrane, and a bottom compartment for microchannels carrying oxygen and nutrients.
The solution enables the testing of cultures of organoid tissues that are amenable longitudinal using microscope-compatible devices. Further, the solution allows testing for morphology, viability, drug response, and protein expression analysis.
Netri – Brain-on-a-Chip
While the brain is one of the most crucial organs in the human body, pharma startups have largely shied away from research in neuroscience. The reasons for this include the humongous complexity of the brain, lack of methods to make interventions, and the blood-brain barrier. Now, brain-on-a-chip solutions allow pharma startups a manipulable way to investigate the effect of drugs on the brain.
French startup Netri creates brain-on-a-chip solutions for applications in neuroscience. The startup’s microfluidics-based system reconstructs the structural and functional network of the brain in vitro. This system offers custom turnkey solutions that feature a multi-compartment architecture and a controlled microenvironment. This helps pharma companies model neurodegenerative diseases for drug discovery.
Hesperos – Multi-Organ-on-Chip (MOC)
Many diseases, including lupus and COVID-19, often affect multiple organ systems. This necessitates models that feature multiple organs to better understand disease progression. Multi-organ-on-chip solutions integrate microfluidics with mathematical PK and pharmacodynamic (PD) modeling to better emulate interconnected physiological responses.
The US-based startup Hesperos offers multi-organ-on-chip solutions for the pharma sector. Hesperos combines a serum-free cell medium and a gravity-flow system to create systemic toxicology models with multiple interconnected organs. Besides, their solutions include two to four organs in a system, including the heart, liver, neuromuscular junction, skeletal muscle, neuron, and cancer models.
Discover All Organ-on-a-Chip Startups & Solutions
The pharma startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free Pharma Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies & emerging solutions that will impact your company!
