Types of Organ-on-a-Chip Devices
Organ-on-a-Chip devices can be designed to simulate a variety of organs, depending on research needs:
- Lung-on-a-Chip: For respiratory research and immune responses.
- Liver-on-a-Chip: Focused on metabolism and drug toxicity.
- Heart-on-a-Chip: For cardiac drug testing and heart tissue studies
- Kidney-on-a-Chip: Useful in filtration and nephrotoxicity research
- Gut-on-a-Chip: Supports microbiome and absorption studies
- Brain-on-a-Chip: Used in neurological research and blood-brain barrier studies
These chips can also be linked together, forming multi-organ systems (body-on-a-chip) for systemic drug testing.
Real-World Applications
- Drug Development and Testing: OoC platforms help pharmaceutical companies to assess the efficacy and toxicity of drugs more accurately before they enter clinical trials.
- Disease Modeling: Researchers use chips to simulate diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, or inflammatory bowel disease. This approach enhances understanding and supports the development of targeted treatments.
- Personalized Medicine: Using a patient’s own cells, OoC devices can simulate how that individual might respond to specific therapies, leading to more precise treatment decisions.
- Toxicology and Safety Assessments: Cosmetic and chemical companies are increasingly adopting OoC platforms to test product safety in accordance with regulations that restrict animal testing.
- Infectious Disease Research: During the COVID-19 pandemic, lung-on-a-chip models were used to study viral infection and screen potential antiviral drugs.
5 Key Players Shaping the Organ-on-a-Chip Market
- Emulate Inc. (USA) is a leading innovator in the Organ-on-a-Chip field, developing microengineered chips that mimic human organs such as the liver, lung, and intestine. A major achievement includes its collaboration with the U.S. FDA to evaluate the Liver-Chip for drug safety testing. In 2022, Emulate secured $82 million in Series E funding to advance commercialization and further develop its platform.
Core Focus: Toxicity screening, disease modeling, and drug efficacy for pharma and regulatory agencies.
- Mimetas B.V. (Netherlands) is recognized for its OrganoPlate® platform, which enables high-throughput 3D tissue modeling in a scalable and automated format. The company serves clients in over 30 countries and has collaborated with major players like Roche, Genmab, and AstraZeneca. In 2020, Mimetas raised €30 million to support its global expansion and product development.
Core Focus: Gut-on-a-chip, blood-brain barrier models, and oncology-focused 3D tissue models.
- TissUse GmbH (Germany) specializes in multi-organ-on-a-chip systems that connect different organ models—such as liver and skin—to study systemic drug effects. The company holds patents in over 20 countries and collaborates closely with both industry and academic partners to develop advanced toxicology models. Its HUMIMIC technology has been utilized in long-term substance exposure research.
Core Focus: Multi-organ interaction, long-term culture, and chronic toxicity studies.
- CN Bio Innovations (UK) develops single and multi-organ microphysiological systems that replicate liver function, metabolism, and immune responses. The company has partnered with the University of Cambridge and the U.S. FDA for preclinical testing initiatives. Its Liver-on-a-Chip is widely recognized for supporting research in viral hepatitis and NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis).
Core Focus: Liver disease modeling, drug metabolism, and virology applications.
- Nortis Inc. (USA) specializes in microfluidic devices that create vascularized organ-on-a-chip models, particularly for the kidney, brain, and heart. Supported by NIH grants, the company is known for its contributions to blood-brain barrier modeling in neurological research and works closely with academic institutions and pharmaceutical partners.
Core Focus: Vascular interface modeling, neuroscience, and nephrotoxicity screening.
Recent Highlights:
FDA Approval: The FDA’s ISTAND Pilot Program has accepted its first liver-on-a-chip data to assess drug-induced liver injury, marking a major step toward regulatory adoption.
Funding Momentum: Startups like TissUse and Nortis have secured new grants and venture funding aimed at developing multi-organ systems.
Public Investment: MIMETAS has partnered in a €124 million project funded by the Dutch National Growth Fund to promote animal-free biomedical innovation and advance organ-on-a-chip development.
Academic Support: In March 2024, Queen Mary University received a £7 million grant to establish an EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training focused on Organ-on-a-Chip technologies, which will support the next generation of scientists and bioengineers.
Conclusion
Organ-on-a-Chip technology is no longer a future concept, it's a present-day solution that transforms how we study, test, and personalize medicine. With strong market growth, significant public and private investment, and expanding real-world applications, OoC platforms are becoming essential tools in modern biomedical science. As innovation progresses, this tiny chip may hold the key to some of healthcare’s biggest breakthroughs.
