Israeli scientists have developed a cancer drug without testing it on animals by using a chip that simulates the human body. Hebrew University researchers created a chip containing human tissue with microscopic sensors to precisely monitor the response of the human body — kidney, liver and heart — to specic drug treatments.
The idea of organ-on-chip technology is 30 years old, but the Israeli team is believed to be the rst to successfully create a new treatment using a chip’s capabilities in order to completely eliminate animal testing. They are so confident in their research, which paired two existing drugs in order to solve a problem of excess liver fat experienced by some cancer patients, that they are submitting the combination for a patent, for clinical trials, and for approval by the US Food and Drug Administration — all while skipping the normal animal testing.