A common challenge of cancer treatment is a lack of effective therapies. For example, there is no adequate cure for pancreatic cancer and the survival rate is extremely low. The use of organoids is considered to be the solution to accelerate the development of new therapies for pancreatic cancer.
The culturing of organoids for clinical purposes, however, faces many issues. The most critical one is the animal origin of most commonly used matrices. This leads to batch-to-batch variability resulting in inconsistencies in test results. It also means that clinical applications are impossible. In a nutshell it means that a non-animal derived, synthetic matrix is indispensable for future organoid culturing.
Noviocell will build upon its synthetic polyisocyanopeptide hydrogels and develop them into easy-to-use solutions for clinical puposes. Because Noviocell’s gel is synthetic and not of animal origin, the experiments lead to reproducible results. Furthermore, the gel mimics the natural environment of cells and can be adapted to the requirements needed for organoid growth. The gel is thermoreversible and as a consequence it is easy to recover cells and organoids.
Pancreatic tumor organoids grown in Novio-PlainGel retain a high degree of cell viability and tumor marker expression. Bioactive molecules that are essential for differentiation and optimal growth were identified. ECM and growth factors in combination with a specific culture medium is expected to improve the growth and differentiation of pancreatic organoids.
Market analysis revealed that the 3D cell culture market is a growing market. No major competition is expected due to the unique selling points of Novio-PlainGel and the focus on the oncology market with great future potential. The 3D cell culture market is worth €433 million in 2015, estimated to reach €1.5 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 14.8%. Scaffold-based technologies account for a revenue share of over 40%.
FTO, IP and regulatory analysis revealed that no IP is likely to be infringed. New IP will be generated by modifying Novio-PlainGel for clinical applications. For the diagnostic market, ISO 13485 and CE certification needs to be received and the hydrogel should be produced following GMP regulations.
Based on the results of this study, we conclude that Novio-PlainGel has an enormous potential to become the state of the art for organoid culture to develop disease specific organoids as excellent diagnostic products for clinical applications.
