Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and InSphero partner to advance drug discovery for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

The collaboration combines VUB's outstanding expertise in liver biology and NASH research with InSphero's market-leading, scalable 3D cell culture technology for drug discovery. The result is a state-of-the-art in vitro model that will accelerate drug discovery for NASH, a rapidly growing global health issue. The model is the only scalable, automation-compatible solution on the market, which covers for full development process from screening for new molecules against NASH to mechanistic investigation of screening hits.

“NASH is a complex disease that requires more efficient and effective methods for drug discovery,” said Professor Leo van Grunsven, Head of the VUB Liver Cell Biology Research Laboratory. “Our partnership with InSphero will allow researchers globally to leverage our latest in vitro technology and to identify new therapeutic targets and advance the development of effective treatments.”

“We are thrilled to partner with VUB to address this growing health concern,” said Jan Lichtenberg, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of InSphero AG. “This licensing agreement allows us to bring cutting-edge research by Leo van Grunsven’s team to market and to combine it with our robust Akura™ 96 and 384 platforms.”. The translation of VUB’s in vitro NASH model into the automated screening platform of InSphero is the key step to create an efficient and human-focused discovery technology for industry and academic researchers aiming at addressing the growing NASH pandemic.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is an inflammation of the liver initiated by fat accumulation in the organ. As the disease progresses, the liver function becomes increasingly impaired while scarring of the liver leads to cirrhosis and the potential need for a transplantation.