Industry Adoption of Organoids and Organs-on-Chip Technology: Toward a Paradox of Choice

Abstract

During the last decade, organoid and organs-on-chip technologies have significantly enhanced the ability to model human biology in vitro. For the pharmaceutical industry, this represents an opportunity to augment, or possibly replace, traditional preclinical animal studies with more clinically predictive tools. In the last few years, the marketplace for new human model systems has expanded rapidly. While pharma companies welcome the breadth of new options, ample choice can be paralyzing. Even for experts from the model developer community who are now filling the ranks in the industry, the pairing of the right model for a specific, fit-for-purpose biological question can be daunting. As a community, the adoption of these models can be hastened in the industry by publishing high dimensional datasets (e.g., multiomic, imaging, functional, etc.) on existing model systems, termed model-omics, and storing them in publicly accessible databases. This action will allow for quick cross-model comparisons and provide a sought-after rationale for either routine or fit-for-purpose use of organoids or organs-on-chip during drug development.

Keywords: context of use assays; drug development; human model systems; microphysiological systems; model-omics; new alternative methods; organoids; organs-on-chip; pharmaceutical industry.