#13 - Catalyzing drug discovery using organ-on-a-chip models - Bas Trietsch - Mimetas

Developing a new drug is a tough and strenuous endeavour, requiring investments that go beyond $1 billion and sometimes up to 15 years of time. On top of that, only 1 out of 10 drug candidates successfully passes clinical trial testing and regulatory approval. The Dutch company Mimetas, specialized in the use of organ-on-a-chip technology, aims to address exactly this challenge by accelerating this laborious process and making it more predictable. Their expertise actually lies in the development of in-vitro human tissue models (including diseases) which recapitulate the cellular complexity but also the biochemical and mechanical cues that make up the real tissues from our body. Such models can then be used as a powerful experimental platform for drug discovery, since they reflect our actual biology so well. Bas Triestch is one of the three founders from Mimetas (alongside Jos Joore and Paul Vulto) who saw in the early 2010s the potential to leverage organ-on-a-chip methods at scale for the benefit of drug discovery, leading them to become the most innovative Dutch company in 2022! In this episode, Bas takes us behind the scenes of the fascinating science that they are driving at Mimetas, the impact that they are having on the R&D efforts from some of the biggest players in the biotech industry, but also the shift that they have operated as a company, starting as a “hardware” provider and gradually becoming a specialized scientific service firm. Timeline: 01:35 - Bas’ background and the origins of Mimetas centered around new drug discovery approaches 05:31 - What organ-on-a-chip technology means and how it serves the development of new human tissue and disease models 09:05 - The OrganoPlate® as the key platform providing scalability and reproducibility for the study of such models 15:40 - Merging organoids and organ-on-a-chip technologies in a unique platform, the OrganoPlate® Graft 24:03 - Moving from better understanding diseases, through medication guidance, and up to personalized medicine 28:47 - Mimetas’ mission in accelerating the development of new treatments and finding the right drugs for the right patients 34:50 - Dealing with substantial amount of experimental data 39:24 - Shifting Mimetas’ business model from selling hardware components to offering specialized scientific services in the field of drug discovery What we also talked about with Bas: Leiden University Hans Clevers Roche Galapagos Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) Wnt signaling pathway We cited with Bas some of the past episodes from the series: #5 - Transforming diagnostics through spatial biology - Déborah Heintze - Lunaphore #8 - Using organoids to transform drug discovery - Nikolce Gjorevski - Roche As mentioned in the episode, you can learn more about Mimetas and the field of organ-on-a-chip engineering through their website. Based on Bas’ recommendation, we also invite you to check out this review to get a deeper understanding of the field and where it stands at the moment. If you want to get in touch with Bas, feel free to contact him per email at s.trietsch@mimetas.com or through LinkedIn. If you want to give me feedback on the episode, ask questions or suggest potential guests, feel free to do so through LinkedIn or per email at mathieu@impulsepodcast.com. And if you liked the episode, don’t hesitate to share it, subscribe to the podcast and leave a positive review on streaming platforms! Finally, you can follow our activities through our website, over LinkedIn, Twitter or on Instagram!