NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – VC firm Harris & Harris Group today announced the formation of Tara Biosystems, which is developing organ-on-a-chip technology for evaluating new therapies and drug compounds.
Harris & Harris has invested an undisclosed amount into Tara Bio. The company will initially use its organ-on-a-chip platform to provide physiologically relevant heart-on-a-chip human tissue models for toxicology and new drug discovery applications.
Its technology comes from research done at Columbia University, the laboratory of Milica Radisic at the University of Toronto, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Tara Bio has developed a stem cell-derived system based on its proprietary "biowire" technology that enables testing on 3D heart tissue for evaluating the safety and efficacy of investigational therapies. The technology reduces risks, uncertainty, and costs and potentially could accelerate the process to bring therapies with value to market, Harris & Harris said.