CN Bio awarded Innovate UK grant to reduce animal testing

CN Bio, a provider of organ-on-a-chip (OOC) systems, has been awarded £180k ($243k) grant funding from Innovate UK.  

Delivered in partnership with the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), the funding aims to support new approach methodologies (NAMs) for use in drug development, aligning with the UK Government’s roadmap to reduce dog and non-human primate (NHP) use in pharmacokinetic (PK) studies 35% by 2030. 

The grant will enable CN Bio to develop a workflow integrating data generated using its human multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS) with physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. 

The Innovate UK-funded project will explore the development and validation of a standardised workflow for human-relevant PK studies, building on CN Bio’s dual-organ PhysioMimix Gut/Liver MPS. Mechanistic data generated within the MPS will be used to derive a range of PK parameters. These parameters will then be integrated with in silico PBPK modelling, enabling researchers to generate mechanistic PK insights and translate them into clinically interpretable predictions within a single workflow. 

The project will include a feasibility study to incorporate a kidney model into CN Bio’s MPS platform, enabling estimation of renal clearance and other excretion-related processes. In parallel, the practicality and impact of introducing liquid handling automation will be explored to improve throughput, reproducibility, and suitability for routine use. 

Dr Yassen Abbas, Biology Group Leader, CN Bio, said: “We’re proud to have been selected for this project by Innovate UK, an exciting opportunity to advance the UK Government target to reduce dedicated PK studies using dogs or non-human primates by 35%. Understanding pharmacokinetics is crucial to determining a drug candidate’s efficacy and potential side effects, and this project represents a valuable new route to unlock earlier, human-relevant insights into drug disposition – ultimately supporting faster, more effective drug development.” 

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