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| Mimetas' OrganoPlates--Courtesy of Mimetas |
Tissue chips that mimic the biological function of organs, called "organs-on-chips," offer a cheaper and potentially more accurate alternative to animal drug testing.
The Netherlands-based organs-on-chips maker Mimetas and Belgium-based biotech Galapagos are capitalizing on the potential of this technology with a new collaborative agreement to develop such chips--miniaturized 3-D cell culture models that mimic specific aspects of human diseases. Mimetas' OrganoPlates serve as early stage screening models, predicting toxic side effects and drug efficacy.
"This collaboration helps us to further validate our technology, by enabling development of unique novel compounds with unique human disease models," said Dr. Jos Joore, Mimetas' chief business officer, in a statement.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Galapagos has a number of drugs in its pipeline to treat inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn's and psoriasis. It's also developing therapies for cancer and cystic fibrosis.
The deal marks a new frontier in drug discovery and early drug development. More biopharma companies--like AstraZeneca ($AZN), which partnered with Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering to use its organs-on-chips for drug testing--seem to be interested in trying out the new technology.
- read the press release