OoC is one of the human-relevant 3D culture models which, also known as ‘New Approach Methods’ (NAMs).
- 3D culture system allows researchers to recreate human organs and diseases in one dish.
- IT holds great promise for many applications such as regenerative medicine, drug discovery, precision medicine, and cancer research, and gene expression studies.
- OOC is a micro-scale system used for mimicking the human body environment. They use microfluidics, along with cells, to imitate the physiological and mechanical conditions experienced in the body.
- They can control the movement and behaviour of materials and cells by using channels, chambers, membranes,etc. The goal for organ-on-a-chip is to develop human tissue models for disease modelling and drug testing.
Steps taken for development of Precision Medicine and Organ on chip technology:
At Indian Level:
- BioE3 policy: To drive innovation in the biotechnology sector, Key focus area of the policy is precision therapeutics.
- Amendment of New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules 2019: To permit the use of human organs-on-chips and other. NAMs prior to and in conjunction with animal testing when evaluating new drugs.
- Genome India Project (GIP): Government-led initiative to create a genetic map of India. GIP aims to develop personalized medicine based on patients’ genomes to anticipate and modulate diseases.
- Phenome India Project: By CSIR for generating a comprehensive phenome database tailored to the Indian population for advancing precision medicine.
- Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA): ICCA’s mission is to create a database of cancer data specific to India to help researchers and clinicians develop personalized cancer treatments.
