BOSTON– Emulate, Inc., the leading provider of next-generation in vitro models, today announced Global MPS Day. Taking place on March 9, 2023, this day is dedicated to fostering community relationships and raising awareness of the growing number of microphysiological systems (MPS) being used in drug discovery and development. To support this inaugural day, Emulate will host a three-hour, virtual symposium focused on advancements within MPS and Organ-on-a-Chip technology with Robert Langer, Sc.D., Academic Co-Founder of Moderna and David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as its keynote speaker. Dr. Langer will be joined by key opinion leaders, industry experts, and clinical researchers working in cell and gene therapy, immunology, and cancer.
“Global MPS Day acknowledges the science community’s commitment to accelerate the discovery and development of new therapies for the thousands of diseases without cures,” said Jenn Perkins, Vice President of Marketing at Emulate, Inc. “It also celebrates recent industry milestones—including President Biden signing the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 into law and the European Parliament establishing an EU-wide action plan to phase out animal models from research and testing—which further open the door for MPS, Organ-Chips, and other animal model alternatives to be used in research and development.”
In his keynote presentation, “The Edison of Medicine: Robert Langer’s Quest to Solve Global Health Challenges Using Biotechnology,” Dr. Langer will go over how advancements in human biology are made. He will discuss, for example, how studying blood vessel growth can lead to health improvements for cancer patients and those losing their eyesight and how new RNA therapies are being used to create new treatments for various diseases. Additionally, he will explain the development of tissue engineering and the impact that MPS, including Organ-Chips, will have on the next generation of drug development and precision medicine.
“The MPS industry has seen monumental growth since the first Organ-on-a-Chip and MPS technologies were developed over a decade ago. Now that Congress and the White House have cracked the door open wider, it’s important for our community to unify and showcase the full extent of our technological capabilities,” said Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who is Founding Director of Harvard’s Wyss Institute and scientific founder of Emulate, Inc. “We believe that Organ-on-a-Chip technology can transform critical phases of the drug development process—in particular lead optimization and preclinical assessment—making the entire process safer, faster, and more effective so that patients can receive more effective and lower-cost treatments.”
To promote industry-wide conversation and broader awareness and support, Emulate asks participants to choose from a selection of organizations that share the vision of improving human health using 21st-century science. The organization with the most votes by Global MPS Day will receive a $5,000 donation. Emulate has also created a social media toolkit that individuals and organizations can use to share what motivates them to push science into a new, human-centric era.
