A novel platform for testing the effectiveness of cell therapies against cancer is one of two patents pending award for the Research & Development team at BioBridge Global, the program’s leader told members of The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation board of directors on Monday.
PREMIVA (Physiologically Relevant Miniaturized In-Vitro Assays) platform can demonstrate how a therapy will function in the body against cancer cells, said Dr. Anand Srinivasan, Vice President, Technology and Innovations and the Head of Center for Innovations and Biodesign, R&D.
The platform mimics the functioning of the therapeutics against multiple organ interfaces, as well as blood flow in the body, to test a potential treatment.
“This is the true test of the functioning of advanced therapies, real-time,” Srinivasan said. “This is physiologically relevant than other assays.”
He showed a time-lapse video of the system at work, demonstrating how a therapy would work to cling to, and kill cancer cells on a miniaturized cell culture platform.
PREMIVA can be used to test multiple forms of advanced therapies, as well as chemotherapy and gene therapy, against a range of cancers, he said.
Srinivasan, who has been with BioBridge Global since April 2016, also thanked The Foundation board for financial assistance for two devices in his laboratory – one for cryostoring cells and another for analyzing how best to feed them.
Srinivasan also shared the ongoing need for financial support for necessary equipment that will advance several projects this year.
