Novel 3D bioprinted human cardiac tissue models for drug safety and efficacy testing

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

During human clinical trials, a large percentage of candidate drugs fail because they are**unsafe or ineffective. Even when pre-clinical cell and animal studies seem positive, problems**occur because tests done with drugs on these models are often not predictive of what**happens in humans. Much of this is due to significant differences in biology between species.**For instance, ion channels (membrane proteins through which heart cells conduct electrical**currents) can vary between humans and animals. Many drugs, including non-cardiovascular**drugs, target these ion channels in the heart, which can potentially result in lethal arrhythmias.**Thus, it is critical to use preclinical models that can closely reproduce what happens in**humans to better predict drug safety.**To streamline the therapeutic development pipeline, we will develop a novel 3D bioprinted**human cardiac tissue model which will improve the translational science process for**predicting whether drugs will be safe and effective in humans. The goal is to develop 3D**human cardiac tissue structure(s) that closely model the electrophysiological properties of the**human heart, relevant to impulse conduction and arrhythmia generation. We will use**commercially available human induced-pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes**and novel microfluidic based 3D bioprinting technology and methodologies to build the 3D**cardiac tissue.**Ultimately, these models are expected to replace the use of animals to screen drugs for**safety and efficacy.**To validate our models, we will evaluate the cardiotoxicity potential of a range of known**compounds, and compare the outcome with data obtained using current standard assays.**It takes on average over $2.5 billion to develop and gain marketing approval for a new drug.**About $100 million is required to complete the pre-clinical studies alone. Using novel**bioprinted models of cardiac tissue is expected to significantly cut the cost and time of**bringing a new drug to market.