Director, Innovation & New Technologies FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) functions to maintain a tightly controlled microenvironment around the brain. For many years, the drug discovery market has been in need of a robust in vitro BBB model system to evaluate drug permeability and barrier function, as well as to study the diseases that affect it. The inherent power of iPSC technology provides access to the specialized cell types required to assemble such a model system, however the field has been plagued with difficulties in reliably manufacturing a consistent supply of these cells at-scale. FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics (FCDI), the market leader in iPSC technology and innovation, will present data on their new iPSC BBB model system, which includes astrocytes, brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC) and pericytes (all derived from FCDI's proprietary donor backgrounds), and media that enables the cells long-term survival and superior functional performance in transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) assays. The potential to integrate this system with emerging organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technologies offers an exciting new capability for the drug discovery community to advance the understanding of BBB development and function with respect to health and disease.
