AI Insight
Bexorg, a biotechnology startup, is developing a platform that restores partial cellular and metabolic functions to intact human brains obtained from deceased donors. The goal is to maintain these disembodied brains in a viable state long enough to serve as experimental models for testing drugs targeting neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. This approach builds on prior research, notably the BrainEx project, which demonstrated that some cellular activity could be reactivated in post-mortem mammalian brains through perfusion with oxygenated solutions.
Why it matters
Current preclinical models for neurodegenerative diseases, including cell cultures and animal models, have poor predictive validity for human outcomes, contributing to high failure rates in clinical trials. Using intact human brain tissue could provide a more physiologically relevant test environment, potentially improving the success rate of drug development pipelines for conditions that affect millions of people worldwide.
By restoring some functions to intact brains from deceased donors, the startup Bexorg hopes to create a better drug development test bed for neurodegenerative diseases
Source: Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing