Creating a new platform to test how drugs affect the gut
Official title: A 2D Intestinal Crypt Platform for Compound Screens
Funded at Altis Biosystems, INC. · NIH-10708947 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is creating a special lab tool that acts like the human gut to see how different medicines and health products affect gut health, helping researchers find safer and more effective treatments without relying on animal testing.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Altis Biosystems, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2023 |
| Award (this year) | $900,267 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DK130647-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-10708947 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are children and young adults, particularly those aged 0-21, who may be affected by conditions related to gut health or require new treatments.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with conditions unrelated to gut health or those who are not within the specified age range may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on developing a two-dimensional platform that mimics the human gut to test the effects of various medicinal compounds, prebiotics, and microbial products. By using human intestinal stem cells, the platform aims to replicate the gut's cellular environment, allowing for more accurate predictions of how these substances impact gut health. This innovative approach reduces the need for animal testing and streamlines the assessment process, making it easier to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs. The platform will be tested in collaboration with AstraZeneca to ensure its reliability as a predictive assay system.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to safer and more effective medications by providing better predictions of drug effects on gut health.
How similar studies have gone: Other research has shown promise in using organ-on-a-chip technologies for drug testing, indicating that this approach could be effective.
Where this research is happening
-
Altis Biosystems, INC.
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sims, Christopher Eldridge — Altis Biosystems, INC.
- Study coordinator: Sims, Christopher Eldridge
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Mucus and Air-Liquid Interface Models of the Human Gut
Aims to create realistic human gut mucus and tissue models to study how the gut lining stays healthy and how mucus acts as a barrier.
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Testing how drugs affect gastrointestinal stem cells to reduce side effects
This study is testing a new way to see how different medications affect the important stem cells in our gut that help heal it, using a special lab method that mimics human cells, so we can find any potential problems before these drugs are given to people.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.