Novel cardiac microchip to revolutionise drug discovery: EU-funded project EMAPS-Cardio releases new video
Each year, cardiovascular diseases claim nearly 4 million lives in Europe. With only a small percentage of cardiovascular drugs being validated in clinical trials, approved and finally made available for patients, the treatment of cardiovascular diseases is one of the most pressing burdens on global health. In a brand-new video, the EMAPS-Cardio partners outline how their novel cardiac microchips will help to revolutionise drug discovery for heart diseases and beyond.
Heart-on-chip technology has emerged in recent years as a promising tool for a more effective and targeted drug development process. Since its launch in March 2021, the EMAPS-Cardio project is well on its way to developing the most accurate cardiac microscale models to date says coordinator Professor Christian Bergaud:
„We are approaching the first-year mark of the EMAPS-Cardio project and a lot has been accomplished in a collaborative effort with the consortium so far. The key issue is the maturation of the cardiac cells. The expertise of our partners has already contributed to fabricating the first elastic and bioactive as well as electromechano-active scaffolds, which will house 3D cardiac cell cultures. A bioreactor prototype is also currently in preparation for the maturation of these cells using chemical, electrical and mechanical stimuli which will be tested over the next few months. Whereas three working groups continue to research and improve the materials in terms of functionality and biocompatibility, I am optimistic that we will conclude this first project period successfully. Now, our new video gives us the chance to introduce our research and the EMAPS-Cardio goals to a broad audience.”
The animated clip explains central issues of the cardiovascular drug development pipeline, highlights the project’s innovative research approach and illustrates how the EMAPS-Cardio results can benefit the drug discovery process for cardiovascular diseases as well as other illnesses.
The video clip is available on our project website and on YouTube.