Medical Device Network (April 28, 2023) Scientists develop ‘vein-on-a-chip’ for blood clot research

Scientists at the University of Birmingham are using the device to demonstrate the underlying mechanism of venous clot formation in research funded by the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3R), British Heart Foundation and Wellcome. The device is mor… Read more

<span data-contrast=”auto”>News Herald (April 21, 2023) </span><span data-ccp-charstyle=”Hyperlink”>Embracing alternatives to animal research while also embracing reality</span> <span data-contrast=”auto”>[While] tremendous strides have been made in creating alternatives, including computer models, organs-on-a-chip, and organoids, which are t… Read more

Interesting Engineering (April 12, 2023) Lab-grown mini organs promise quick vaccine testing with fewer animal trials

In a newly published study, a team of researchers proposes a novel vaccine screening method that uses lab-grown miniature organs to quickly test new vaccines without involving a significant number of animal models.

News Medical… Read more

STAT (March 29, 2023) <span data-ccp-charstyle=”Hyperlink”>Shortage of monkeys for early-stage research jeopardizes timelines for developing some drugs</span><span data-ccp-props=”{"201341983":0,"335559740":276}”> </span>

<span data-contrast=”auto”>A growing shortage of monkeys used for early-stage pharmaceutical research is causing concern that… Read more

Technology Networks (March 22, 2023) Passage of the FDA Modernization Act Enables New Era for Preclinical Testing

The 11th-hour passage of The FDA Modernization Act, in late December 2022, gave a much-needed boost to the advocates of new alternative methods (NAMs) for preclinical testing. For years, the scientific community has worked with the… Read more

Forbes (March 10, 2023) Accelerating Drug Development To Keep Pace With Drug Discovery

The pharmaceutical industry invests heavily in technologies—$57.4 billion in 2022 alone—to discover new therapies to treat our greatest health challenges. Yet drug development teams are still using the same antiquated, manual processes to move those lif… Read more

Reuters (March 2, 2023) U.S. regulators rejected Elon Musk’s bid to test brain chips in humans, citing safety risks

On at least four occasions since 2019, Elon Musk has predicted that his medical device company, Neuralink, would soon start human trials of a revolutionary brain implant to treat intractable conditions such as paralysis and b… Read more

STAT (February 22, 2023) Charles River suspends shipments of monkeys used in research amid federal probe

Charles River Laboratories, one of the largest clinical research organizations in the U.S., is suspending shipments of non-human primates that are widely used in pharmaceutical research after receiving a subpoena from federal authorities… Read more

Nature (February 16, 2023) Mini-organs attract big pharma

Hans Clevers, head of Pharma Research & Early Development at Roche, discusses the role for organoids in drug discovery and development.

 

Live Science (February 16, 2023) FDA no longer requires animal testing for new drugs. Is that safe?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) no… Read more

WebMD (February 9, 2023) Scientists Create ‘Vagina on a Chip’: What to Know

For years, women’s health advocates have argued that far more research is needed on women’s bodies and health. The world’s first-ever “vagina on a chip,” recently developed at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, could go a long way to making t… Read more

Dazed Magazine (February 2, 2023) Will Harvard’s new bionic vaginas revolutionise women’s health?

Medical conditions affecting people with vulvas are notoriously understudied, but new developments in the field suggests this might be changing.

 

CBC (January 31, 2023) Canada trails other nations on banning animal-tested cosmetics. A new plan ai… Read more

Fast Company (January 27, 2023) Organs-on-chips: Tech that can help researchers conduct studies closer to real-life conditions

Preclinical trials are mainly conducted on cell cultures and animals. Both are limited by their poor ability to mimic the conditions of the human body. Cell cultures in a petri dish are unable to replicate every aspect of… Read more

National Geographic (January 18, 2023) Animal-friendly laws are gaining traction across the U.S.

Lawmakers are increasingly restricting animal testing, puppy mills, and fur sales. Here are three key actions to watch for this year.

 

USA Today (January 15, 2023) Animal testing no longer required for drug approval. But high-tech substitutes… Read more

Axios (January 4, 2023) Quris eyeing up to $100M in new funds

Quris, an AI-powered prediction platform for clinical trials, is prepping to raise as much as $100 million in Series A capital, CEO Isaac Bentwich tells Axios exclusively.

 

Endpoint News (January 3, 2023) Passage of FDA Modernization Act 2.0 clears the way to reduce animal… Read more

Scientific American (December 15, 2022) First ‘Vagina-on-a-Chip’ Will Help Researchers Test Drugs

Scientists have developed what they say is the world’s first “vagina-on-a-chip,” which uses living cells and bacteria to mimic the microbial environment of the human vagina. It could help to test drugs against bacterial vaginosis (BV), a common mi… Read more

Pharmtech Focus (December 9, 2022) Molecular Devices Acquires Cellesce, Expanding Industrywide Accessibility to Organoids

Molecular Devices, a leading provider of high-performance life science solutions, has announced the acquisition of Cellesce which specializes in contract development and manufacturing of large-scale patient-derived organoids (… Read more

One Green Planet (December 1, 2022) Petition: Tell the UK to Enforce Animal Protection and Animal Testing Laws Properly

A new report found a widespread problem of non-compliance in Great Britain when it comes to animal testing and animal protection laws. The stories of avoidable deaths are heartbreaking and shocking. Article contains a link to… Read more

Daily Mail.com (November 17, 2022) Chip designed to mimic a human placenta and embryo could replace ‘the cruel and unethical’ drug testing on the more than 2 MILLION pregnant mice used in experiments every year

Swedish scientists have created a chip to replace drug testing on pregnant mice. The chip is designed with placenta cells to mimic that… Read more

The Salt Lake Tribune (October 25, 2022) Letter: Animal Wellness Action supports Mike Lee’s reelection

Animal Wellness Action, a national organization devoted to creating legal standards against cruelty to animals, is pleased to endorse Sen. Mike Lee in his reelection campaign. Sen. Lee recently joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in cosponsoring the… Read more

One Green Planet (October 18, 2022) <span data-ccp-charstyle=”Hyperlink”>With Your Help, Congress Can Complete Work on FDA Modernization Act 2.0 to Enable Dramatic Reduction in Animal Testing</span><span data-ccp-props=”{"201341983":0,"335559740":276}”> </span>

<span data-contrast=”auto”>Contact your U.S. Representative today </span>and urge him… Read more

Yahoo News (October 12, 2022) Is it time to end the era of animal testing in science?

Animal testing has been critical in some of the most important scientific breakthroughs in modern medicine, including the discovery of insulin as a treatment for diabetes, the development of penicillin and creation of the first polio vaccine. But the practice… Read more

Endpoints News (September 29, 2022) Senate passes bill to rework animal testing requirements for drug developers

The US Senate passed via unanimous consent on Thursday afternoon a bipartisan bill that would alter a federal mandate for animal testing on new drugs, but stops short of removing animal testing entirely.

 

{Press Release}… Read more

Los Angeles Times (September 16, 2022) Letters to the Editor: How much do we need animal medical research? Readers debate

Letters from three readers about the use of animals for medical research.

 

The New York Times (September 15, 2022) F.D.A.’s Drug Industry Fees Fuel Concerns Over Influence

Every five years, top officials of the Food and D… Read more

BusinessWire (September 8, 2022) Dr. Jane Goodall and Vivodyne Issue Open Letter to Congressional Leaders to Include FDA Modernization Act as a Rider in the Food and Drug Amendments Act of 2022

Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, a conservation organization focused on environmental and… Read more

LA Times (August 24, 2022) Meghan, Prince Harry adopt beagle rescued from abuse at Virginia plant 

In less than two months, Mamma Mia the beagle went from rags to royalty. Her changed life began in July when federal authorities rescued her — along with 4,000 other beagles — from overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at the Envigo breeding and… Read more

Financial Times (August 14, 2022) How science is getting closer to a world without animal testing

New technology involving miniature human organs built in a lab is a step towards better treatments and ending a contentious practice.

STAT (August 11, 2022) Novartis reports two children died from acute liver failure after treatment with Zolgensma gene therapy

The company this week began notifying physicians and payers about the deaths, which occurred over the past few months in Russia and Kazakhstan, The children passed away approximately five to six weeks after the one-time… Read more

Forbes (July 25, 2022) Was Key Alzheimer’s Research Manipulated?

A six-month investigation by Charles Piller, an award-winning reporter for Science magazine, finds that key research published in 2006 may have included fabricated data. The 2006 paper, published in the journal Nature, identified a subtype of amyloid called Aβ*56 as a cause of Al… Read more

NPR (July 21, 2022) Animal welfare groups are gearing up for a massive canine rescue in Virginia

About 4,000 beagles are being rescued from a troubled breeding facility in Virginia run by a company that raises and sells animals for research. Animal welfare groups are trying to find them homes.

 

ABC News (July 18, 2022) 4,000 beagles to be… Read more

FiercePharma (July 14, 2022) Pfizer’s Hospira recalls anesthetic after finding ‘visible’ particulate during annual inspection

Hospira, a subsidiary of Pfizer, issued a voluntary recall for one lot of the anesthetic propofol after discovering “a visible particulate” in a vial during an annual inspection. Propofol is generally used to induce and… Read more

Bio-IT World (June 21, 2022) Organ-On-A-Chip Platform For Studying Immune Response To Vaccines

A first in the world of organs-on-a-chip, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have come up with a lymphoid follicle model that can be used to probe the function of the immune system and predict… Read more

In an essay published in The New York Times on April 15th, Bill Gates outlines his opinion on How to Develop Life-Saving Drugs Much Faster by using organ-chips and other technologies with communication across academia, industry, and the latest software tools.

What does everyone think? Do you agree or disagree? Or “agree/disagree, but….”?

Is… Read more

Axios (June 17, 2022)   Another Alzheimer’s drug disappoints

Hopes for new Alzheimer’s drugs took another disappointing turn Thursday, when Roche said an antibody therapy in a long-running trial didn’t help people with a rare genetic condition that causes early-onset Alzheimer’s.

 

One Green Planet (June 17, 2022)   FDA Modernization Act: La… Read more

Check out THIS PAPER in The Journal of Cystic Fibrosis to discover why the human CF Airway Chip may provide a valuable preclinical tool for pathophysiology studies as well as for drug testing and personalized medicine.

Anyone else using organ chips to study cystic fibrosis?

According to WhatIsBiotechnology.org, a search of the term ‘organ-on-a-chip’ on Google scholar reveals that the number of publications in this area rose from just 4 in 2000 to 2,660 in 2021. The number rose particularly strongly from 2016 onward. We’ve all got our favorites; what’s your favorite organ-chip paper and why?

Check out these career opportunities using organ-chip technology!
Wyss Institute:

Postdoctoral Fellow – Testing Gene Editing Therapies Against Viral Infection in a Human Lung-on-a-Chip

Postdoctoral Fellow – Modeling Cancer in Human Organ Chips

Staff Scientist – Neuroscience

 

Cedars Sinai:

Postdoctoral Scientist – Svendsen Lab – Organ Chi… Read more