Heart-In-A-Jar Platform Humanizing Preclinical Research

Bio-IT World.By Deborah Borfitz, January 6, 2020.
The pumping capability was one of the more compelling features of the three-dimensional (3-D) organ construct for AstraZeneca, which is looking to screen drug candidates for treating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction—a common condition especially among the elderly and in women—with no effective therapy available, says Li. Novoheart’s cardiac tissue engineering technology, known as the MyHeart Platform, also held appeal for Pfizer, which has used it to model both electrical and mechanical defects of the heart in patients with the neurodegenerative disease Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA).

In a study published earlier this year in Stem Cell Research & Therapy, the FRDA models demonstrated utility in evaluating novel therapeutics and disease progression. Study results highlighted the potential of small molecules or gene therapy for suppressing or reversing the cardiac symptoms of FRDA.

Heart-In-A-Jar Platform Humanizing Preclinical Research