CollPlant Biotechnologies Ltd. together with Ramot, the Technology Transfer Company of Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Cente announced entering into a license and research agreement to co-develop a 'Gut-on-a-Chip' tissue model for drug discovery and high throughput screening of drugs. The model is intended to be used in personal medicine applications for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease affecting millions of individuals worldwide. The in-vitro intestine-on-chip platform combines CollPlant's human recombinant collagen (rhCollagen) with other proprietary biomaterials and human cells.

Designed to emulate the human intestine tissue, the 3D bioprinted model will allow medical professionals to identify drug targets and personalized therapeutic responses that can lead to improved patient outcomes. The collaboration draws upon CollPlant's expertise in high precision 3D bioprinting and collagen-based bioinks for scalable and reproducible biofabrication of human tissues, with Tel Aviv University's'smart' Organ-on-a-Chip platform and Sheba Medical Center's capabilities in advanced treatment screening. The co-development is led by Dr. Ben Maoz from Tel Aviv University, who completed his post-doctoral fellowship under the supervision of Prof. Don Ingber and Prof. Kit Parker at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Dr. Yael Haberman from the Pediatric Gastroenterology unit of Sheba Medical Center, and CollPlant's team of scientists and engineers.

Under the terms of the agreement, CollPlant will fund the development of the intestine model and receive an exclusive manufacturing and commercial license and Tel Aviv University and Sheba will receive sales royalties from CollPlant. Ulcerative colitis is characterized by chronic inflammation and a relapsing and remitting clinical course that requires lifelong treatment. Patients respond differently or fail to respond to therapies, resulting in exposure of patients to unjustified drugs and delay of the institution of effective treatment.