Global collaboration aims to create safer cancer therapeutics 

An international collaboration is set to evaluate chemotherapeutic toxicity in human organoids, aiming to generate safer and more effective cancer therapeutics. 

iXCells Biotechnologies, a provider of human cell-based solutions and iPSC services, has announced it has joined the collaboration alongside Rosebud Biosciences, Kantify and Incite. The project will initially focus on predicting toxicity in heart, liver, and kidney tissue models, to develop personalised, multi-organ toxicity profiles for novel chemotherapies. 

During the collaboration, iXCells will reprogramme peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from the blood of a patient with liposarcoma, a rare, malignant cancer that originates in fatty tissues, into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).  

Rosebud, an innovator in organoid development and complex 3D biology, will then differentiate these hiPSCs into heart, liver, and kidney organoids using its industrialised organoid platform. Drug toxicity studies will then be performed by Kantify, whose novel AI discovery engine aims to discover novel targets and drugs for underserved diseases. 

Unforeseen off-target toxicity in critical organs remains one of the most significant risks for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, with injury to the heart, liver, or kidneys being a leading cause of clinical trial failures. By assessing chemotherapeutic toxicities directly in organoids developed from a patient’s own cells, the collaboration aims to generate personalised toxicity profiles to guide therapeutic decision making. 

“We are excited to be collaborating with Rosebud, Kantify, and Incite on this joint initiative to demonstrate how hiPSC technologies and organoid systems can transform precision toxicology,” said Steve Smith, CEO of iXCells Biotechnologies. 

“By starting from a patient’s own cells, we gain unprecedented insight into off-target toxicity, one of the biggest challenges in developing safer and more effective cancer therapeutics.” 

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