OminiWell’s new technology is streamlining cancer treatment AND lessening our reliance on lab rats
AusHealth is supporting the development of a drug-testing technology that’s more efficient, more usable and more ethical
Australian start-up OminiWell has developed a drug-screening ‘chip’ to make it easier to test an individual patient’s cancer cells for treatment.
The device will also render research labs less reliant on animal testing.
OminiWell’s BioTwin Chip is not a microprocessor, but an evolution of cutting-edge OOAC, or ‘organ-on-a-chip’ technology.
At first glance, the BioTwin Chip looks like a long, transparent Lego brick. In fact, it’s a piece of micro-engineering that comprises a honeycomb of silicone rubber backed by a thin sheet of etched glass and a stripe of gel.
The BioTwin Chip is designed to grow human ‘organoids’ from a patient’s own tissues. These micro-millimetre pieces of tissue would otherwise form the likes of skin, heart, liver and mammary glands.
Researchers can charge tiny reservoirs on the chip with stem cells or tumour cell samples taken from a patient. Cells in turn migrate into 80 micro-sized wells etched into the glass slide where they proliferate in a three-dimensional space to form organoids.
These tissue cultures are ‘biologically twinned’ with the patient so any testing with drugs and/or therapeutics has more meaningful outcomes. The system of reservoirs also enables drug-testing to be carried out on each culture, and the chip can be mounted on a microscope for examination.
“The OminiWell can be used in a range of drug-testing situations, but it is perfectly suited to the new frontier of personalised precision medicine,” says OminiWell CEO Sylvia Chien.
“We envisage it being used to fine-tune treatments for an individual patient’s cancer.”
According to Syliva, compared to existing OOAC systems, Ominiwell can accelerate the screening process. “It’s very simple to use. With minimal instruction, you can charge up the OminiWell in a day. Theoretically, you can do your testing you can have a new and tested treatment at the clinic within two weeks.”
Importantly, the OminiWell system also offers a way for labs to move away from animal testing.
“The CSIRO has been front-footed about moving Australian labs away from animal-testing models, in line with a global trend,” says Sylvia.
“In vitro – or ex vivo – technologies like OminiWell are surpassing the performance of traditional animal models when it comes to anticipating the safety and efficacy of novel medical products.”
Sylvia is the latest health tech entrepreneur to take up residence in AusHealth’s innovation hub, The Accelerator.
“We think there’s tremendous potential for this technology to contribute to personalised medicine,” says AusHealth’s Business Development and Commercialisation Manager, Dr Tina Lavranos.
“We look forward to supporting Syliva in her bid to bring Ominiwell to market.”