Protecting Human Health With Organ-On-A-Chip Technology

At the onset, symptoms manifest subtly with just a sense of nausea, but soon give way to abdominal discomfort, accompanied by fatigue and an unsettling intuition of bodily malfunction. These seemingly benign signs can be early indications of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Without prompt action, this can be fatal, as patients developing DILI may progress into multi-organ failure.

DILI develops when a therapeutic becomes toxic in the liver of a patient, leading to a decline in liver function and, ultimately, death. Detecting this condition proves challenging, with prognosis even more elusive. A battery of preclinical models is utilized to screen prospective compounds for toxicity, and animal models are often viewed as the ultimate predictor of drug safety. However, relying on animal models to predict toxicity, both generally and specifically with DILI, is unlikely to prevent toxic compounds from infiltrating clinical trials and jeopardizing patient well-being. This perilous oversight can be averted with the adoption of appropriate preclinical models. Explore compelling evidence that suggests Organ-on-a-Chip technology offers a far more reliable means of predicting drug toxicity than animal models.