TOMAC addresses a pressing challenge in drug development: the high failure rate of drug candidates in clinical trials (over 90%) despite promising preclinical results. A key reason is the limited predictive capacity of animal models, still widely used but poorly reflecting human physiology. This results not only in financial losses, but also in delayed patient access to effective therapies.
To improve preclinical predictability and reduce animal use, Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) technology has emerged as a game changer. OoCs are microfluidic devices that simulate human organ functions by culturing human cells in controlled, dynamic environments. While evidence increasingly supports their superior relevance over animal models, e.g. liver-chips identifying toxicity in drugs missed by traditional methods, their industry uptake is still limited. A major barrier is the lack of compatibility with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in pharmaceutical R&D, particularly in terms of automation, scalability, and ease of use.
One of the critical challenges is the generation of physiological flow, which is essential to mimic in vivo organ function (e.g. blood flow in vessels, shear stress in the gut). Existing solutions typically use bulky, external pump systems with tubing, which prevent automation and introduce variability. Thus, users face a trade-off between physiological relevance and compatibility with industry workflows.
TOMAC overcomes this barrier by introducing the Magnetic Artificial Cilia (MAC) pump: a compact, tubeless, modular flow generation system inspired by biological cilia. The MAC pump consists of a disposable chip with micro-actuated magnetic cilia and an external actuation system that operates without physical connection. This allows full automation and plug-and-play integration with existing OoC platforms, in a format compatible with standard well-plate-based workflows used in pharmaceutical labs.
The objectives of TOMAC are:
1. To develop and miniaturize the MAC pump for compatibility with industrial OoC setups;
2. To demonstrate physiological flow generation in commercial organ-chips (e.g. ibidi endothelium-on-chip);
3. To validate the system's performance against pharmaceutical SOPs;
4. To initiate commercialization via a TU/e spin-off.
The expected impact is multifold. Technologically, TOMAC makes it feasible to integrate true physiological flow into automated, high-throughput OoC systems. Commercially, it enables organ-chip providers to meet pharma requirements, thus accelerating industry adoption. Societally, it contributes to the reduction of animal testing and facilitates more predictive drug screening. Economically, the MAC pump has the potential to lower R&D costs by 10–26% per developed drug, translating to an estimated €100–700 million per compound, by reducing attrition in clinical phases.
