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The Retroject Device: A Novel Approach to Glaucoma Drug Delivery

Award Information
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Branch: National Institutes of Health
Contract: 1R43HL117543-01A1
Agency Tracking Number: R43HL117543
Amount: $196,409.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: NHLBI
Solicitation Number: PA12-088
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2013
Award Year: 2013
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): N/A
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
3160 CHESTNUT ST STE 200
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19104-
United States
DUNS: 78270582
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: Yes
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 MICHAEL YANG
 (215) 746-1750
 myang@innolign.com
Business Contact
 MELINDA SHOCKLEY
Phone: (609) 571-6012
Email: mshockley@innolign.com
Research Institution
 Stub
Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Innolign Biomedical has developed a novel microtissue system for assessing potential drug cardiotoxicities using technologies that allow for the creation of miniaturized human tissue constructs and the measurement theirbiomechanical activity. The goal of this Phase I SBIR proposal is to establish the feasibility of using these microfabricated arrays of engineered 3D human cardiac microtissues, termed CardioMicroTug, in a novel, high-throughput format for assessing cardiotoxicity of drugs. Cardiac toxicity represents a significant pharmaco-economic problem in the development of new drugs and biopharmaceuticals in part because current toxicological studies fail to fully predict potential cardiac safety issues during the drug development process. Recent advances in tissue engineering suggest that engineered human cardiac tissue ex vivo could be used as a safety assessment platform for candidate drug compounds. CardioMicroTug features aligned cardiac microtissues anchored tomicrofabricated cantilevers. These cantilevers report forces generated by the cardiac microtissues in real time, thereby providing a direct readout of human cardiac biomechanical function. The goals of Aim 1 are to demonstrate consistent and reproducible physiologically relevant biomechanical responses in engineered cardiac microtissues. Studies in Aim 2 will evaluate the capability of CardioMicroTug to predict changes in contractility when treated with a panel of known cardiac modulators. These studies will set the stage for further commercial development of CardioMicroTug as a high-throughput in vitro 3D cardiac microtissue assay system for assessing cardiotoxicities of pharmaceutical compounds. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Cardiac toxicity is the leading cause of attrition of drugs in all stages of development, placing a significant economic and performance burden on the pharmaceutical industry. This project is a feasibility study of a new in vitro system that can measure thesafety profile of candidate drugs during early stages of pharmaceutical research and development, thereby improving safety while lowering costs to development of new drugs.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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