SpherINOv – U. Strasbourg

Lung Organoids

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lung cancer was the first leading cause of cancer deaths (1.76 million people) in 2018.

The average time needed to develop an anticancer drug is estimated to be more than 7 years with an average cost of 650 million USD, while the failure rate is around 95%.

Thus, it is with great enthusiasm and expectation that not only the scientific community, but also the whole society need innovative biological models to screen and test efficient bioactive molecules for anti-cancer therapies.

Taking this into account, we aim to develop a new model to screen and test anti-cancer drugs for lung cancer. We’ll first form the organoids using both healthy and lung cancer cell lines. Once these organoids are formed, we’ll then add other cell types, such as endothelial cells, neurons, and immune cells, to form an organoid containing vascular, nervous and immune systems to mimic the in vivo cancer microenvironment. Then the organoids will be combined with a microfluidic system to test the pharmacokinetics of potential drugs.

Such a model will be used as a high throughput screening tool for new therapeutic molecules.

To reinforce our knowledge and expertise, we have also established a collaboration with Pr. Véronique Orian-Rousseau from Karlsruhe Institute für Technologie (KIT) in Germany, who has successfully developed intestinal organoid models.