Hesperos Inc. announced the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Hesperos have received the first phase of a $3.8 million milestone-based National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for research involving the company’s human-on-a-chip system. The goal of the research is to better understand how overdosing on opiates works, their impact on multiple organs and the effect of drugs used to treat those overdose episodes including their potential toxicity to organs. James Hickman, Ph.D., Chief Scientist at Hesperos and Professor at UCF, is the principal investigator for the research.
“We are grateful to have funding to support research in an area that represents such a large and growing need,” said Dr. Hickman. “Our interconnected human-on-a-chip system provides a non-invasive way to emulate the response of compounds among all ‘organ’ compartments, and to concurrently predict potential toxicity and efficacy of drugs, including opioids and opioid antagonists such as Narcan.”