The discrepancy between preclinical and clinical outcomes in cancer therapy in general, and in hematologic malignancies in particular, can be attributed to the failure of classic two-dimensional culture models to accurately recapitulate the complex biology of cancer and drug responses observed in patients.<br/>We developed a 3D tissue engineered bone marrow (3DTEBM) culture derived from the bone marrow supernatant of MM patients to incorporate different bone marrow components including cancer cells and accessory cells fr from the bone marrow microenvironment. The new culture demonstrated close demonstration of the malignant tumor microenvironment including cellular organization, oxygen and drug gradients, allowed proliferation of primary cancer cells, and mimicked clinically observed drug-resistance ex-vivo.<br/>These findings were translated into a pending US-patent, which was exclusively licensed to a start-up company formed by the inventors late 2015 (Cellatrix LLC). Cellatrix LLC operates based on a business model that includs diversified sources of revenue such as CRO-like service to Pharma for drug development, direct sale of products to research costumers, and direct service to cancer patients and their health providers for development of personalized-medicine strategies based on individual-patient-derived cultures.<br/>Within less than a year, Cellatrix LLC generated revenue through CRO-like service and product sale, hired over 10 employees and contractors, and started a clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy and validity of the personalized medicine service.

3D tissue-engineered bone marrow, a novel 3D-cell culture model: From basic biological mechanism to a fast revenue generating start-up company with diversified business models

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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