1st face-to-face meeting for EPIColiX project

👋 After the long pandemic, last week we could finally make it to Iceland to meet our colleagues at EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals face-to-face.
The occasion was EPIColiX – a joint ground-breaking project aiming at developing a new gut-on-chip model for drug testing under the Eurostars program.

⚡️ We are very pleased about the achievements obtained so far in this project, in which we have succeeded in developing a model that reproduces physiological 3D peristalsis with in vivo-like barrier parameters and experiences an increased sensitivity to proinflammatory triggers.

👨‍🔬 The newly developed gut-on-chip model is enabling, robust drug-induced gut toxicity assessment and efficacy or pathway testing of new therapies for intestine disorders. Including barrier integrity, viability, target expression, PK/PD studies and inflammatory response assessments. Now, we are looking forward to the next step in which we will test the promising drug candidates from our partner EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals to address ulcerative colitis.

A big thanks to our hosts in Iceland: Jennifer Kricker, Jón Pétur Jóelsson, Finnur Friðrik Einarsson, Friðrik Rúnar Garðarsson, Michael Parnham, Jessie Rietdijk from Catalyze Group and the Eurostars project, as well as Janick Stucki, Nina Hobi, Aude Rapet, Laurène Froment, Nuria Roldan, Andreas Hugi, Innosuisse and Rannís – The Icelandic Centre for Research for making this possible.

We can’t wait to see what the next phase of the project brings! Stay tuned!