Description of Collaborative Activity: |
The Microphysiological systems initiative aims to develop 3-D human tissue chips that accurately model the structure and function of human organs, such as the lung, liver, and heart. Once developed, researchers can use these models to predict whether a candidate drug, vaccine, or biologic agent is safe or toxic in humans in a faster and more cost-effective way than current methods. More than 30 percent of promising medications have failed in human clinical trials because they are determined to be toxic despite promising pre-clinical studies in animal models. These organs-on-chips will enable scientists to predict more accurately how effective a therapeutic candidate would be in clinical studies. To help streamline the therapeutic development pipeline, National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is leading this initiative to improve the process for predicting whether drugs will be safe in humans. |
NIH Participating Institutes/Centers/Office of the Director: |
NCATS, NCI, NEI, NHLBI, NIAID, NIAMS, NIBIB, NICHD, NIDA, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIEHS, NIGMS, NINDS, NINR, OD/DPCPSI/ORWH, OD/DPCPSI/OSC |
