NETRI and Axol Bioscience announce a strategic partnership to launch organs-on-chip kits including both NETRI’s neuro-organs-on-chip devices and Axol’s human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) with reagents to boost pharmaceutical industry access to organs on chip.
NETRI is a French start-up that develops organs-on-chip technologies for pre-clinical neuroscience discovery.
Axol Bioscience Ltd is a supplier of human iPSC-derived cells, media products and related contract services for life science discovery.

Lyon, France, January 10th, 2023 – NETRI, a neuro-organs-on-chip start-up, and Axol Bioscience Ltd, a leading supplier of human iPSC-derived cells and media products, announced today a business agreement to commercialize kits composed of NETRI’s organs-on-chip devices and Axol Bioscience’s hiPSC-derived cells.
Initially, this partnership will aim at offering three sets of models to their customers based on current applications using Axol Bioscience’s hiPSC-derived cells in NETRI’s microfluidic devices for:

• Peripheral nerve injury: using Axol Bioscience’s hiPSC-derived sensory and motor neurons with the axotomy capability of NETRI’s DuaLink Delta Ultra,
• Peripheral neuropathic pain: hiPSC-derived sensory neurons with chemically induced injuries in NETRI’s DuaLink MEA platform (MicroElectrode Array) powered by Axion Biosystems,
• Allodynia, nociceptive pain and sensitive skin syndrome: hiPSC and primary co-culture of sensory neurons and keratinocytes in NETRI’s DuaLink Ultra and DuaLink MEA to perform screening of reference compounds and electrophysiology readouts.

For each of these applications, NETRI and Axol Bioscience will commercialize kits which will include NeoBento™ NeuroFluidics™ devices, hiPSC vials, and both tuned cell culture and standard readouts protocols using high throughput content platforms.

NETRI and Axol Bioscience will also engage in joint R&D framework programs to expand applications using Axol Bioscience’s hiPSC-derived cells in NETRI’s current and future devices:

• Neuromuscular junction: use of wild-type, genetically modified or patient cell models,
• Blood brain barrier: use of astrocytes and epithelial cells,
• Neuroinflammation: use of microglial cells to assess chemoattractant from distal to proximal inflammatory compartment,
• Huntington’s disease: use of cortical and striatal cells.

The partnership between NETRI and Axol Bioscience represents a significant advance in organs-on-chip adoption by the pharmaceutical industry, including compound manufacturer, Contract Research Organizations and regulatory bodies.

Thibault Honegger, CEO & Co-Founder of NETRI, states: “We have been using Axol’s hiPSC derived cells since last year, translating their cell culture protocols into our high throughput microfluidic devices for our R&D projects focusing on Pain and Dermo-Cosmetics applications. Thanks to our clients’ feedbacks on the quality of their sensory neurons in our devices, it was natural to further up synergies with Axol Bioscience. It is our common vision to ease the access to human organs-on-chips for our customers through R&D and joint commercialization efforts. We are excited about the momentum of the organs-on-chip market and joining forces with Axol Bioscience will inevitably strengthen the adoption of alternative methods by the pharmaceutical industry.”

Liam Taylor, CEO Axol Bioscience Ltd adds, “The Axol / NETRI collaboration will provide the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries with an innovative, high throughput technology platform using NETRI’s microfluidic chip combined with first-in-class cellular reagents from Axol Bioscience. NETRI has advanced the organ on a chip / microfluidic technology to a state-of-the-art level, and we are delighted to be able to supply our human iPSC-derived cells for this platform. The current collaboration uses Axol’s human iPSC-derived sensory neurons in combination with human skin cells and will provide an in vitro platform suitable for investigating skin sensitization and chronic pain as well as for identifying and testing drug targets and treatments for pain relief. We look forward to offering future applications of Axol’s neuronal iPSC models across NETRI’s platforms”.

About NETRI (LYON 840248744)

NETRI is an industrial start-up that designs and manufactures standardized neuro organs-on-chip for life-science companies focused on neurological disorders, pain and dermo-cosmetics. NETRI offers R&D services and commercializes organs-on-chip devices for R&D departments and CROs in pre-clinical stages. NETRI’s products and services are used to anticipate the efficacy of innovative treatments, accelerate preclinical research phases, and reposition compounds on new indications, all the while limiting animal testing. Its patented technologies make use of repeatable human neural circuits coupled with multiple human cell types. This opens the way for more effective high-throughput screening of compounds by allowing the creation of predictive human-based models. With more than 45 collaborators, including 12 PhDs part of a mutlidisciplinary team (engineering, biology and digital), NETRI is located in Lyon (France) with 300 m² of clean room facilities and P2 labs.
www.netri.com/

About Axol Bioscience Ltd

Axol is a leading provider of product and service solutions in the iPSC-based neuroscience, immune cell, and cardiac modeling for research, drug discovery and screening markets. Our custom research capabilities in gene editing, electrophysiology, reprogramming and differentiation means we can offer customers validated ready-to-use cell lines and a suite of services bolstered by deep scientific expertise and robust functional data – all with shorter lead times. Axol products are manufactured under stringent ISO 9001 quality measures, and we believe in setting a new industry standard for quality and performance of ready to use iPSC-derived cells, media products and related services,
www.axolbio.com/