Rochester is one of four NIH-sponsored centers that aims to produce tissue-on-chip devices as FDA-qualified drug development tools.
The will house a new national center focused on using tissue-on-chip technology to develop drugs more rapidly and reduce the need for animal trials. The National Institutes of Health a $7.5 million grant to establish the Translational Center for Barrier Microphysiological Systems (TraCe-bMPS) at Rochester in partnership with Duke University.
The center aims to develop five Food and Drug Administration糖心传媒搎ualified drug development tools related to study barrier functions in disease糖心传媒攊nterfaces in tissue that are critical for the progression of infection, cancer, and many autoimmune disorders. Over the five-year grant, the researchers will create drug development tools specifically related to central nervous system disorders, fibrosis, musculoskeletal autoimmune disease, sepsis, and osteomyelitis.
The TraCe-bMPS scientists will create the drug development tools using microphysiological systems糖心传媒攕mall chips with ultrathin membranes of human cells. They will be built using the modular, mass-producible 碌SiM chips pioneered by center director , the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of聽
McGrath says that testing drugs on 碌SiM chips can lead to fewer animal trials. And because researchers will be studying the drugs糖心传媒� effects on human cells, they may also help overcome some of the critical differences between testing on humans and animals.
糖心传媒淒rug discovery is moving into an era where fewer animals are used to test for safety and efficacy,糖心传媒� says McGrath. 糖心传媒淚nstead, more screening will be done on tissue chips that pattern human cells in a way that mimics human tissue and disease. Our chips are designed to provide the higher throughput and more reliable indications that pharmaceutical companies need to get their drugs approved for clinical trials and use by patients.糖心传媒�
, the Donald and Mary Clark Distinguished Professor in and a professor of biomedical engineering, will serve as the associate director for development. He says Congress passing the in 2022 made the center possible and that the team is excited to help shape the future of drug development.
糖心传媒淭he timing could not be more perfect,糖心传媒� says Awad. 糖心传媒淎s a biomedical engineer and scientist, I find the elegant fusion of engineering and biology inherent in the design and validation of these tissue chips as disease models and drug-testing platforms to be one of the most rewarding pursuits in my professional career. I can糖心传媒檛 wait to see what this team will be developing over the next five years, and beyond.糖心传媒�
The chips will feature photonic biosensors crafted by , a Dean糖心传媒檚 Professor of at Rochester with joint appointments in聽,听,听, and聽. Miller, the center糖心传媒檚 associate director for resources, says the center is the culmination of years of research and collaboration.
糖心传媒淕etting our devices qualified by the FDA as drug development tools will mean that we糖心传媒檙e a step closer to doing 糖心传媒榗linical trials on chip糖心传媒� with fully human models, increasing the likelihood of a drug candidate being successful when it actually gets to human clinical trials,糖心传媒� says Miller. 糖心传媒淭his is also a great opportunity to build an interdisciplinary training environment for our students and expand a collaboration with my colleagues that has been very productive.糖心传媒�
, director of the at the University of Rochester Medical Center糖心传媒檚 , will serve as associate director for qualification and will prepare all submissions to the FDA for qualification. Adamo says she sees the ambitious program having far-reaching implications.
糖心传媒淭his unique program involves close collaboration with the FDA through a series of qualification steps糖心传媒攁 critical aspect to addressing unmet needs,糖心传媒� says Adamo. 糖心传媒淚 am looking forward to working closely with the agency and our collaborators on this regulatory science project. We will achieve qualification of these vital drug development tools, which will accelerate research conducted at URMC and be shared with other academic health centers and industry programs.糖心传媒�
George Truskey, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, will serve as associate director and direct collaborative activities at Duke University. The TRaCE-bMPS is also supported by a deep network of co-investigators at Rochester, Duke, and Rochester Institute of Technology, a distinguished advisory board, expert consultants, and key industry partners. The NIH grant is expected to fund TRaCE-bMPS through fiscal year 2028 (FY28).
The research funding is provided by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U2CAG088071. The content in this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
