MyoChip · Project

Lab-Grown Human Muscle on a Chip for Drug Testing and Prosthetics

healthPrototypeTRL 3Thin data (2/5)

myochip.imm.medicina.ulisboa.pt

Imagine growing a tiny piece of real human muscle in a lab dish — complete with blood vessels feeding it and nerves controlling it, just like in your body. That's what MyoChip built: a miniature 3D muscle that actually contracts and behaves like the real thing. It's like a crash-test dummy for pharmaceuticals — instead of testing drugs on animals or waiting for human trials, companies can test them on this living muscle chip first. The technology also opens doors for building better prosthetics and understanding why muscles weaken as we age.

By the numbers

Dimensionality of the engineered muscle tissue

Research partners in the consortium

Countries involved (FR, PT, UK)

Total project deliverables produced

Industrial partner in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Drug companies spend billions testing compounds on animals that don't accurately predict human muscle responses, leading to late-stage clinical failures. Prosthetics manufacturers are stuck with rigid mechanical actuators that can't replicate the natural movement of human muscle. Both industries need access to real human muscle tissue that behaves like the genuine article — contractile, innervated, and vascularized — without the ethical and practical limitations of human testing.

The solution

What was built

The project built a 3D human skeletal muscle on a chip, complete with a vascular network for irrigation and motor neuron connections for innervation. Key deliverables include characterized perfused and innervated muscle constructs, designed multi-tubular microchannels for the vascular system, and an implemented gene editing method for muscle cell engineering — 10 deliverables in total.

Audience

Who needs this

Pharmaceutical companies screening drugs for muscle-related diseases or side effectsMedical device companies developing advanced prosthetics and exoskeletonsCosmetics and chemical companies needing animal-testing alternativesBiorobotics startups building soft actuators from biological tissueContract research organizations (CROs) offering organ-on-a-chip testing services

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Pharmaceutical & Drug Discovery

enterprise

Target: Pharma companies developing drugs for muscular diseases or compounds with muscle-related side effects

If you are a pharma company spending years and millions on animal testing for muscle-related drug candidates — MyoChip developed a 3D human skeletal muscle on a chip with working blood vessels and nerve connections that mirrors in vivo muscle function. This lets you screen drug candidates on actual human muscle tissue before clinical trials, potentially cutting preclinical timelines and reducing animal testing costs. The system was validated across 10 deliverables by a 5-partner consortium spanning 3 countries.

Biorobotics & Prosthetics

mid-size

Target: Medical device companies developing advanced prosthetics or soft robotics

If you are a prosthetics manufacturer struggling to create actuators that move like real human muscle — MyoChip engineered a 3D muscle construct with contractility and architecture that mirrors living tissue, complete with motor neuron innervation. This biological actuator technology could replace rigid mechanical components in next-generation prosthetics with living muscle tissue that responds to nerve signals. The project specifically identified prosthetics and biorobotics as target applications.

Cosmetics & Consumer Safety Testing

any

Target: Cosmetics or chemical companies required to test product safety without animal testing

If you are a cosmetics or chemicals company facing EU bans on animal testing and need reliable alternatives — MyoChip built a perfused and innervated human muscle tissue system that replicates real muscle responses. This organ-on-a-chip platform enables you to test product toxicity and muscle irritation on human tissue rather than animals, helping you meet regulatory requirements. The platform combines microfluidics with tissue engineering validated by 3 research institutions.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to adopt this muscle-on-a-chip technology?

Based on available project data, specific pricing is not disclosed. Organ-on-a-chip systems typically require investment in microfluidic equipment, cell culture supplies, and specialized expertise. The technology was developed in a research setting with 5 partners, so licensing or collaboration agreements with the consortium would be the likely entry point.

Can this scale to industrial-level drug screening?

The project demonstrated a working 3D muscle with perfusion and innervation, but it was developed under a FET Open research program focused on emerging technologies. Scaling from lab demonstration to high-throughput industrial screening would require further engineering. The design of multi-tubular microchannels deliverable suggests groundwork for scalable architecture.

Who owns the IP and how can I license this technology?

The intellectual property is held by the 5-partner consortium led by Instituto de Medicina Molecular Joao Lobo Antunes in Portugal. Key IP likely covers the gene editing method, multi-tubular microchannel design, and the integrated perfused-innervated muscle system. Licensing inquiries should be directed to the coordinator.

Is this technology compliant with EU regulations on animal testing alternatives?

Organ-on-a-chip technologies like MyoChip align with EU Directive 2010/63/EU promoting replacement of animal testing. The platform produces human tissue responses rather than animal proxies, which regulators increasingly accept. However, specific regulatory validation for each application would still be required.

How long before this could be integrated into our R&D pipeline?

The project ran from 2018 to 2023 and produced 10 deliverables including characterized perfused and innervated muscle constructs. As a FET Open project, this is still at the research-to-prototype stage. Integration into an industrial R&D pipeline would likely require 2-3 years of further development and validation work with the consortium.

What technical expertise do we need in-house to use this?

Based on the consortium composition — cell biologists, material engineers, microfluidics experts, and computational modellers — you would need teams with cell culture, microfluidics, and bioengineering capabilities. Alternatively, a partnership with the consortium could provide the expertise while you focus on the application domain.

Consortium

Who built it

The MyoChip consortium is a compact team of 5 partners across 3 countries (France, Portugal, UK), heavily weighted toward research with 3 research organizations and 1 university. There is 1 industrial partner (and 1 SME), giving a 20% industry ratio — relatively low for near-market technology but appropriate for this FET Open project focused on building foundational science. The coordinator is Instituto de Medicina Molecular in Portugal, a well-established biomedical research institute. For a business looking to engage, the single industrial partner suggests the technology is still primarily in academic hands, meaning there's an opportunity to be an early commercial adopter but also a need for patience as the technology matures toward market readiness.

INSTITUTO DE MEDICINA MOLECULAR JOAO LOBO ANTUNESCoordinator · PT
FLUIGENT SAparticipant · FR
INSTITUT CURIEparticipant · FR
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRSthirdparty · FR
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

Instituto de Medicina Molecular Joao Lobo Antunes, Lisbon, Portugal — reach out via their institutional website or the CORDIS contact form

Order a report on this consortium See INSTITUTO DE MEDICINA MOLECULAR JOAO LOBO ANTUNES profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing or collaboration with the MyoChip team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right researcher and help structure the conversation. Contact us for a one-page technology brief.

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