InDanio and the in vivo revolution
Behold the lowly zebrafish. A widely used organism in developmental biology, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) is now helping to accelerate the process of drug discovery.
As a vertebrate, the zebrafish not only has most of the same organs found in mammals, it also has strong genetic equivalents to humans and is proving a powerful tool in diabetes, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
Current non-animal (or in vitro) screening tests rely on measuring simple chemical interactions to gauge a drug’s effectiveness – results that often don’t correlate well with the drug’s effects in a complex living organism.
By combining the scale and throughput of in vitro screens with the physiological complexity of animal studies, the zebrafish promises to contribute to several aspects of the drug development process, including target identification, disease modelling, lead discovery and toxicology.
Using zebrafish, InDanio Bioscience is an early-stage drug discovery company built around the world’s first high-throughput live animal screening system to test new drugs.
InDanio Bioscience was in the earliest stages of platform development when the company approached MaRS.
“Without the support of MaRS, InDanio Bioscience would be years behind in terms of progress and value. MaRS provided the means, motivation, connections and confidence required to move ahead with company development,” said Dr. Henry Krause, Professor, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto.
“To our knowledge, there are no other entities capable of providing this level of early-stage assistance to researchers such as ourselves.”
With the help of MaRS advisors, InDanio Bioscience was able to develop a business plan, learn about and file for national patents and apply for seed funding. InDanio was awarded a $75,000 grant by the Ontario Centres of Excellence to complete its patent protection and is now in the process of seeking venture capital funding.
