Patient-derived 3D tissue reconstruction models for preclinical…
zPREDICTA is developing organ-specific, physiologically-relevant 3D cell culture models providing a 1-to-1 reconstruction of human tissues. This is the only available 3D culture approach that comprehensively accounts for the major components of the cellular and extracellular tissue microenvironment preserving the critical interactions between a tumor and its surroundings. Clinical study data demonstrate the high correlation between drug efficacy measured in our platform and the clinical response. The ability of the zPREDICTA platform to reliably predict clinical outcomes offers superior compound attrition management, empowering researchers to exclude ineffective compounds while selecting agents with a high probability of success in the clinic. Our approach is compatible with any drug class, multiple tissue/cell types and a wide variety of readouts. Our customers are using these models for efficacy screening of anticancer compounds, including immuno-oncology agents, evaluation of mechanisms of drug resistance, the rescue of failed drug candidates, assessment of off-target toxicity, and a multitude other applications.
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Selected answers from zPREDICTA's original YC application for the S15 Batch
How long have each of you been working on this? How much of that has been full-time? Please explain.
The PD-3D™ model was developed, tested, and validated (both in cell culture and in 2 animal models) over the last 4 years. We did not write any code, but thousands of pipet tips have been used-up to develop our technology.
What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.
Our customer described our product as: “a clinical trial in a test tube.” Greater than 90% of anticancer drugs do not reach the market because they fail during clinical development. Conventional preclinical systems (cell culture or animal models) do not test drug response under physiological conditions of human tissues and do not eliminate compounds with a high likelihood of clinical failure. Our proprietary Patient-Derived 3D Tissue Culture (PD-3D™) platform is a missing link between the conventional drug testing methods and human trials. PD-3D™ is a ready-to-use organ-specific platform that mimics human tissue environment. In validation testing PD-3D™ was a reliable indicator of drug response and potential drug toxicity. Using PD-3D™, our customers can evaluate drug candidates and drugs combinations within the native environment of human tissues to predict the likelihood of clinical success. The PD-3D™ platform will serve the biotechnology and pharmaceutical market where it will be instrumental for prioritizing drug development schedules. Incorporating PD-3D™ into the preclinical testing paradigm will decrease the timelines and reduce the cost of drug development by 15-35%.