Abstract

 Organ-on-chip (OoC) technology allows building complex in vitro models tailored specifically to the tissue/organ needs. OoC models mimic the microphysiological environment cells experience in a tissue including the vasculature-like perfusion. They are developed to potentiate several functional readouts using very low cell numbers. Over the past years, the technology has emerged as a powerful tool to support drug discovery and development with a potential for pharmaceutical R&D cost reduction1. The rise of complex treatment modalities, increasing attrition rates and low of predictively of current model systems created an urgent need for human-relevant and wellcharacterized in vitro models to support drug development (i) in efficacy testing by building in vitro disease models and (ii) in toxicity testing by providing a unique tool for mechanistic studies. Of particular interest for both efficacy and toxicity testing, is the human eye. Millions of people worldwide are affected by ocular disorders leading to visual impairment. Hence, to develop ophthalmic drugs and study ocular toxicity, novel human-relevant ocular tissue models are urgently needed.

Keywords:   Immunocompetent, Biological Drugs