Jan Lichtenberg, Ph.D., is Co-Founder and CEO of Swiss- and US-based InSphero Inc., the largest biotech specialized in 3D cell-culture technologies for discovery and safety. InSphero’s patented assay-ready 3D microtissues mimic the structure and functionality of organ tissue, e.g. liver, pancreas, or tumors including disease states like diabetes or NASH. The 3D microtissues allow for more predictive and reliable compound profiling for discovery and safety testing in a highly robust, rapid and cost-efficient way.
Jan co-founded InSphero in 2009 and grew the company to 65 employees in Switzerland and the US while expanding the business to encompass all top 15 global pharmaceutical companies. Prior to InSphero, Jan had VP R&D and Product Management positions at Hocoma AG (medical robotics) and Uwatec (microelectronics). He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Neuchâtel and managed a research group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich. Since 2021 he is a Board Member of the Society of Laboratory Science and Screening (SLAS).
Complex 3D In-Vitro Liver-Disease Models For Fast, Automation-Compatible and Translational Drug Discovery
Thursday, 13 June 2019 at 11:15
Add to Calendar ▼2019-06-13 11:15:002019-06-13 12:15:00Europe/LondonComplex 3D In-Vitro Liver-Disease Models For Fast, Automation-Compatible and Translational Drug Discovery3D-Culture, Organoids and Tox Screening Europe 2019 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Scaffold-free 3D microtissues have evolved into the most widely used technology for highly predictive and most scalable cell-based assays in drug safety and discovery. While they provide a faithful in-vitro approximation of the in-vivo tissue microenvironment, they were not amenable for modeling microphysiological features up to now. Focusing on advantages and challenges in daily industry use, we’ll describe two case studies illustrating how a 3D microtissue can be used as a predictive surrogate for drug discovery. One study investigates a complex co-culture system recapitulating the hallmarks of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in a screening-compatible format. Consisting of primary human hepatocytes, NPCs and stellate cells, these 3D microtissues can be elastically driven into and out of specific disease states. As second application, we will describe the use of reconstituted, 3D primary human pancreatic islets for discovery of anti-diabetic drugs. Finally, we present a new multi-organ-on-a-chip system featuring microfluidic channels and chambers that were specifically engineered for culturing 3D microtissues and organoids under physiological flow conditions. The platform complies with the SBS plate standard and is made of polystyrene to prevent unwanted compound absorption. It allows for an automated and on-demand interconnection of up to 10 microtissues per channel in a highly flexible fashion. Enabling an automated removal and re-insertion of 3D microtissues from and into the device, this platform finally ads deep endpoints such as next-gen sequencing, lipidomics, FACS to the analytical toolbox for organ-on-a-chip applications. Summarizing, we will focus on the major challenges encountered when implementing human, primary cell based 3D and organ-chip assays – and our suggestions on how to address them in an industry-wide effort.
Add to Calendar ▼2019-06-13 00:00:002019-06-14 00:00:00Europe/London3D-Culture, Organoids and Tox Screening Europe 20193D-Culture, Organoids and Tox Screening Europe 2019 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2019-06-13 11:15:002019-06-13 12:15:00Europe/LondonComplex 3D In-Vitro Liver-Disease Models For Fast, Automation-Compatible and Translational Drug Discovery3D-Culture, Organoids and Tox Screening Europe 2019 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
