Colon Kit: Feasibility assessment of production scale-up for an integrated model of the human large intestine

This project aims to assess the feasibility of scaling up production of a 'Colon Kit' a research model of the human large intestine. This will meet the pressing need for effective and affordable models of the human large intestine for research and personalised medicine.

This product can provide an accessible, and affordable cutting edge research tool for labs. The product also has diagnostic and prognostic potential. The tool can be used to carry out patient specific investigations and treatment screens to better identify effective treatments.

The Human Microbiome Market is valued at $376.3 Million (2019) with CAGR of 21.8% from 2020 to 2027 (VMR, 2019). The importance of the microbiome to health and disease is increasingly recognised, and health and pharmaceutical product development aims to address this need.

Aelius Biotech?are a research organisation who specialise in lab models of the digestive tract, offering a range of research tools to help understand and develop formulations to improve and de-risk product development and get successful products to market.

Aelius has developed and tested an early-stage prototype integrated large intestinal model -- the first of its kind that includes a cell culture system that integrates modelling of the intestinal mucus bi-layer and epithelium with the microbiome. This has potential to be a huge development in digestive modelling providing the first system capable of modelling luminal, mucus and epithelial phases of digestion in a continuous, integrated system from mouth to terminal large intestine. This project aims to make this technology accessible globally to research labs.

This proposed feasibility project would draw on the expertise of CPI in 'design for manufacture'. CPI as part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult will investigate feasibility of design and manufacturing options, trial and comparison to current state-of-the art to ensure that the device meets industry needs, is usable and is acceptable to users, thereby increasing the likelihood of adoption by customers.

The project includes validation of the model with commercial products to generate case studies and validation data to promote the model.