NEUREKA · Project

Hybrid Brain-on-Chip Device That Tests Alzheimer's Drugs Faster and Cheaper

healthPrototypeTRL 4Thin data (2/5)

Imagine you could build a tiny "mini-brain" on a chip — real human neurons wired up to a computer simulation that mimics what goes wrong in Alzheimer's disease. That's what NEUREKA built. They created a device with 60 nanoelectrodes that connect living neurons to a computer model, so the computer can push the neurons into a disease state and then test whether a drug actually fixes the problem. It's like a flight simulator for brain diseases — you can test drugs in conditions that closely resemble a real sick brain, without needing a patient or an animal.

By the numbers

EUR 2,776,704

EU funding for development

60 channels

Nanoelectrode array capacity (1st generation)

5 partners

Consortium size across 4 countries

Total project deliverables completed

4.5 years

Project duration (Dec 2019 – May 2024)

The business problem

What needed solving

Neurological drug discovery has one of the highest failure rates in pharma — candidate compounds that look promising in basic cell tests repeatedly fail in clinical trials because lab models don't accurately reproduce how the brain actually malfunctions in diseases like Alzheimer's. Companies spend years and billions on drugs that never work in patients, partly because they had no reliable way to test compounds against realistic brain disease conditions before going to human trials.

The solution

What was built

The team built a bioengineered Synaptor prototype — a hybrid device that connects living human neurons to computational brain simulations via a 60-channel nanoelectrode array. They also developed a biophysical model that links computational disease simulation with the physical device, enabling closed-loop testing of drug candidates on human iPSC-derived Alzheimer's neurons.

Audience

Who needs this

Pharma companies with Alzheimer's or neurodegeneration drug pipelinesContract research organizations (CROs) offering preclinical neuroscience screeningBiotech companies developing organ-on-chip or electrophysiology platformsAcademic medical centers running translational neuroscience programsLab equipment manufacturers looking to enter the brain-on-chip market

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery

enterprise

Target: Pharma companies with neurodegenerative disease pipelines

If you are a pharma company spending billions on Alzheimer's drug candidates that keep failing in clinical trials — NEUREKA developed a hybrid brain-on-chip with 60-channel nanoelectrode arrays that tests drug effects on real human neurons driven into disease-like states by computer simulation. This lets you screen compounds against both molecular and physiological deficits before committing to expensive animal studies or human trials. The device was built across a 5-partner consortium over 4+ years with EUR 2,776,704 in EU funding.

Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

mid-size

Target: CROs offering preclinical neuroscience testing services

If you are a CRO looking to differentiate your preclinical testing services — NEUREKA's Synaptor prototype offers a new assay platform that goes beyond standard cellular screens. It uses human iPSC-derived neurons in a closed-loop system with computational models, measuring drug impact at synaptic, neuronal, and network levels simultaneously. This could become a premium service offering that pharma clients would pay for when standard cell-based assays fail to predict clinical outcomes.

Biotech Instrumentation

mid-size

Target: Lab equipment manufacturers specializing in electrophysiology or organ-on-chip

If you are a biotech instrumentation company building organ-on-chip or electrophysiology platforms — NEUREKA's 60-channel nanoelectrode array technology represents a potential product line extension. The system contacts neurons at subcellular locations across dendritic trees, soma, and axonal branches, enabling precision that existing multi-electrode arrays cannot match. Licensing or co-developing this technology could open a new market segment in neuroscience drug discovery tools.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or license this technology?

NEUREKA was funded with EUR 2,776,704 across 5 partners over roughly 4.5 years as a Research and Innovation Action. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with the consortium coordinator in Greece. As a FET Open project, IP ownership typically remains with the consortium partners under Horizon 2020 rules.

Can this scale to industrial-level drug screening?

The current system is a proof-of-concept demonstrated for Alzheimer's disease using human iPSC-derived neurons. The 1st generation device features 60 channels. Scaling to high-throughput screening with hundreds or thousands of channels would require further engineering and validation work beyond the current prototype stage.

What is the IP situation and can I license this?

The project was funded under FET Open (FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020), where IP typically stays with the consortium partners. With 5 partners across 4 countries (Switzerland, Greece, France, Italy) including 1 industrial partner, licensing negotiations would likely involve multiple parties. Contact the coordinator for specific IP terms.

How does this compare to existing brain-on-chip solutions?

Based on the project objective, NEUREKA's key differentiator is the closed-loop hybrid approach — computational models actively drive biological neurons into disease states via nanoelectrodes that contact cells at subcellular precision. Standard multi-electrode arrays and organ-on-chip platforms typically cannot replicate both molecular and physiological deficits of neurodegeneration simultaneously.

What was actually built and demonstrated?

The consortium delivered a bioengineered Synaptor prototype, a biophysical model connecting computational simulation with the nanoelectrode array, and a 1st generation 60-channel nanoelectrode array. The proof-of-concept was demonstrated for Alzheimer's disease using human iPSC-derived neurons. A total of 14 deliverables were completed.

Is this ready for regulatory use in drug approval?

Based on available project data, this is a research-stage proof-of-concept, not a validated regulatory tool. Any use in formal drug approval processes would require extensive validation studies, regulatory qualification, and likely years of additional development. It is best suited currently for early-stage research and compound screening.

What kind of technical support or training is available?

The project consortium includes 2 universities and 2 research organizations with expertise in neuroelectronics and computational neuroscience. Based on available project data, ongoing support would depend on negotiations with the coordinator at IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS in Greece. The project website at neureka.gr may have additional technical documentation.

Consortium

Who built it

The NEUREKA consortium is compact — 5 partners across 4 countries (Switzerland, Greece, France, Italy) — with a research-heavy profile: 2 universities and 2 research organizations, plus 1 industrial partner (which is also the only SME). The 20% industry ratio is low, which is typical for FET Open frontier research projects. The coordinator is a Greek research foundation (IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS). For a business looking to adopt this technology, the limited industrial involvement means commercialization was not the primary goal — you would likely need to invest in further development and validation to bring this to market. The multi-country spread does bring diverse expertise but also means IP negotiations could involve multiple jurisdictions.

IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNASCoordinator · EL
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVAparticipant · IT
UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO-BICOCCAparticipant · IT
MAXWELL BIOSYSTEMS AGparticipant · CH
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRSparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS, Greece — contact via CORDIS project page or project website

Order a report on this consortium See IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing the NEUREKA brain-on-chip platform or connecting with the research team? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction and help you evaluate the technology fit for your drug discovery pipeline.

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