US-based contract research organisation (CRO) PhenoVista Biosciences has entered a collaboration with NETRI, the France-based manufacturer of microfluidic devices for high-throughput screening, to expand its organ-on-chip service provision for drug development.
A provider of custom and off-the-shelf imaging-based assay services, PhenoVista Biosciences said the move to combine its expertise in developing high-content assays with NETRI’s cell-culture technologies would contribute towards its aim to equip the biopharmaceutical industry with new capabilities to expedite drug discovery.
NETRI has created models and systems for diseases, including chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), along with dermatology and cosmetology applications, with its devices and models enabling the compartmentalisation of cells for HTS and multi-electrode array electrophysiology readouts.
PhenoVista co-founder and CEO James Evans commented: “This partnership supports PhenoVista's core mission – to provide scientists with the highest quality data related to drug efficacy and mechanisms of action.
“NETRI's platform technology integrates seamlessly with our custom-assay development capabilities built on scalable, quantitative imaging of human cell models. We look forward to helping our clients answer mechanistic questions faster with novel insights.”
NETRI’s chief business officer Dr Thierry Poumeyrol said the partnership would help to advance its mission to make advanced organ-on-chip technologies more accessible, helping accelerate breakthroughs in drug discovery and human healthcare.
Poumeyrol said: “By combining our cutting-edge microfluidic platforms with PhenoVista’s expertise in high-content imaging and assay development, we are excited to offer our clients even more precise, functional, and scalable solutions."
This collaboration underscores our commitment to empowering the biopharmaceutical industry with tools to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes."
Organ-on-chip technology effectively gives researchers a living 3D cross-section of a human organ.
According to GlobalData analysis, such microchip organs could replace animal studies by potentially offering a more ethical disease model that can provide a greater level of insight into the efficacy and toxicology of a drug candidate.
