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. Researchers are currently using 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 also enable scientists to predict more accurately how effective a therapeutic candidate would be in clinical studies. To help streamline the therapeutic development pipeline, NIH, in collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Innovation and Quality (IQ) Consortium of pharmaceutical companies, is leading this initiative to improve the process for predicting whether drugs will be safe and effective in humans. In an effort to overcome some clinical trial challenges, Clinical Trials on a Chip is supporting the development of tissue chips to inform clinical trial design for both common and rare diseases support the planning and execution of clinical trials; assist in patient stratification; help identify reliable clinical trial endpoints; and ultimately develop tools for more informative and efficient clinical trials for both common and rare diseases. Another program, the Tissue Chips in Space initiative, is creating tissue- and organ-on-chip platforms that can be sent to the ISS National Lab so that scientists can better understand the role of microgravity on human health and diseases and translate those findings to improve human health on Earth. |
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 |
