Report
Teaser, summary, work performed and final results
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Ima-Go (A High-throughput, Functional Imaging Platform to Accelerate Drug Discovery)
Teaser
More than one billion people worldwide suffer from central nervous system (CNS) disorders and treatment costs annually 1.4 T€ in the EU and US. Brain drugs are 45% less likely to succeed and progress than non-brain drugs.Society is aging and neurological disorders...
Summary
More than one billion people worldwide suffer from central nervous system (CNS) disorders and treatment costs annually 1.4 T€ in the EU and US. Brain drugs are 45% less likely to succeed and progress than non-brain drugs.
Society is aging and neurological disorders increasing. By 2050, the number of people living with dementia could be around 100 million.
The objectives of Ima-Go project are:
(1) Increase the success rate of brain drugs.
(2) Launch and commercialization of a high-throughput and robust in vitro screening platform for preclinical drug testing using induced pluripotent stem cells modeling human diseases.
(3) Introduction of novel bioassays to assess cellular function and morphology, label-free, in the preclinical drug screening market.
Work performed
The Ima-Go project work focused on economic and financial feasibility, market assessment, technical assessment and industry integration of MaxWell Biosystems high-throughput label-free functional imaging technology. The main results achieved so far are:
(1) Establishment of commercial and collaboration relationships with pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology industry, contract research organizations and academic laboratories for testing Ima-Go core technology.
(2) Testing and establishment of additional marketing tools, such as a world launch tour (WLT): 1-day long events in cities with a high concentration of pharma/biotech companies and top universities (e.g. Boston, Tokyo and Shanghai).
(3) Detailed study of competitors’ technology and strengthen of key hardware/software aspects to develop and include in Ima-Go platform.
(4) Positive outcome of technical feasibility in regard to integration 96 high-resolution microelectrode array chips in a standard well-plate format.
Final results
We performed proof-of-concept studies with industry collaborators, showing that Ima-Go technology can deliver long-term (>4 weeks) and more robust functional readouts of neuronal activity as compared to the state-of-the-art functional readouts. Accurate and robust functional readouts will impact drug screenings of hundreds of neuronal lines modeling human brain disease.
Website & more info
More info: http://www.mxwbio.com.