Medical & Dental

Organovo and OHSU Cancer Research Collaboration

Human cancer research today relies heavily on animal models and cancer cell lines, which are used to identify and trial potential drug candidates. However, in order to effectively predict the clinical outcomes, these tools have restrictions. To be able to more accurately predict results one would need human disease models in order to have the potential to enhance the drug discovery. These issues may be overcome in the future by applying bioprinting technology to the research.

Organovo Holdings (OTCQX: ONVO), creator and manufacturer of functional 3D human tissues for medical research and applications, and the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) are undertaking a collaboration into cancer research. The collaboration aims to develop clinically more predictive ‘in vitro’ 3D models, which it is hoped will ultimately lead to discovering more, novel cancer therapeutics. There is a vast need for new biological models in order to more precisely replicate human cancer and similar diseases to better understand how the cancer develops. With this knowledge better treatments and therapies can subsequently be delivered to patients.

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Keith Murphy, Chairman and CEO at Organovo commented about the collaboration with OHSU: “The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is consistently on the leading edge of cancer research, delivering true therapeutic breakthroughs like Gleevec. The knowledge and experience of the team at OHSU will be critical as we work together to create advanced models of cancer and metastasis that more reliably predict the safety and effectiveness of new therapeutics.”

According to renowned cancer researcher Joe W. Gray, Ph.D., director of the OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine (OCSSB), Gordon Moore chair of Biomedical Engineering in the OHSU School of Medicine and associate director for translational research for the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute: “A major challenge in oncology research today is that animal models cannot accurately represent human physiology, and cell lines do not provide information on how cells act in a three-dimensional, native architecture. Using Organovo’s bioprinting technologies, we plan to create new models to understand cancer disease mechanisms and metastatic progression, which can be used to discover and test new targeted therapies.” Joe-Gray_1

Through the application of Organovo’s bioprinting technology, developing architecturally correct 3D human disease models, the research could find answers to questions surrounding the understanding of drug toxicity and efficacy in early stages of the drug development process. The end result would be safer and more effective therapies.

Brian-Druker

 

“Better research models lead to a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms and more accurate information in the preclinical drug discovery and development process. We believe new technologies, like bioprinting, are important for producing more relevant models of cancer and metastasis to ultimately support the discovery of new therapeutics,” OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Director Brian Druker, M.D., added.

Source: Organovo