Lorna Ewart has long been frustrated by the mismatch between animal and human toxicity data. All too often preclinical studies in rats and dogs will suggest a drug is safe, only for clinical trial data to raise a red flag. In 2012, in the early days of organ-on-a-chip technology, she pitched a project to her colleagues at AstraZeneca to assess whether an engineered system that mimics the liver could better interpret cross-species safety data and tease out real toxicity concerns. “I got laughed out of the room initially,” jokes Ewart, who is now Chief Scientific Officer at Emulate, a leading organ-on-chip company. It took a further 12 months to get real traction and internal funding for the project.
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Interviewed by Asher Mullard
The interview was edited for length and clarity.
