Ethnically diverse liver models for global research and drug/vaccine development

Access to medicines and anti-viral vaccines would have significant societal, environmental, and economic impacts, both in the short and long term. The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inefficiency in how novel therapeutics are made and tested. New drug and vaccine development takes on average \>10 years, with costs in excess of 2 and 0.5 billion USD respectively. Latter stage therapeutic failures amount to over 90% in clinical trials, because predicting reactions in humans cannot be determined with current models and tests.

Cytochroma manufacturers liver models to accurately test the safety and effect of new drugs early in the drug development process. These stem cell-derived liver models are made from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) - an unlimited, sustainable, and ethical source of cells for testing.

Years of research combined with cutting-edge-technology has resulted in Cytochroma's novel, highly reproducible, and scalable method of differentiating iPSC into liver models. These are ideal for drug development/toxicity testing but must be shipped live, which enables rapid testing as cells are ready for immediate use. However, global disruption to numerous academic and commercial institutions as a result of COVID-19 has highlighted the need for a more flexible cell source and supply.

Cytochroma proposes to utilise this funding to develop a cryopreserved (frozen), shippable format for its liver models. This flexible, ethical, and diverse source of cells has the potential to help identify novel treatments for COVID-19 and offset the negative impact on Cytochroma's loss of sales. Frozen liver models can be shipped worldwide, significantly increasing our customer base and enabling access to a growing global market worth over 14 billion USD by 2025\.

Cytochroma has recruited a talented, diverse, and capable team and are based in a building that has been selected as "essential" to allow vital research, such as ours, to continue during lockdown. Furthermore, our automation means we have the capacity to generate cells at a significant scale.

We seek a revolution in preclinical testing and substantial improvements in the efficiency of new drug and vaccine development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the widely forecast economic recession has adversely impacted Cytochroma's efforts to raise seed capital. As such, the Company needs access to a relatively small amount of grant funding in order to get this project underway.

Global access to more accurate models of human tissue will reduce the need for animal testing, saving time and money. Furthermore, models that can recapitulate the world's diversity will enable the identification of much needed universal treatments for pandemics such as COVID-19\.