Indian Placenta-on-Chip Replicates 4 Functions for Drug R&D

For pharmaceutical companies, the placenta remains one of the last frontiers in drug safety assessment. Most drugs lack adequate pregnancy data, and animal models often fail to predict human fetal toxicity. A new Indian placenta-on-chip, which recapitulates hormone secretion, nutrient transfer, and barrier function without complex microfluidics, directly addresses this gap. The platform’s ability to model gestational diabetes and screen for drug permeability using standard lab equipment could revolutionize preclinical development, enabling earlier go/no-go decisions on compounds intended for women of childbearing potential.

In a significant advancement for reproductive biology and drug safety, researchers from ICMR's National Institute for Research on Women's Health and IIT Bombay have engineered a microphysiological 'placenta-on-chip' that recapitulates the critical maternal-fetal interface. Published in the journal Biofabrication, the platform represents the first indigenous Indian effort to model the human placental barrier in a scalable, laboratory-friendly format. While organ-on-chip technologies have proliferated over the last decade—modeling lung, liver, intestine, and kidney—the placenta has remained uniquely challenging due to its dynamic, multi-cell-type architecture and the difficulty of obtaining human tissue for direct study. This new device, which does not require complex microfluidic perfusion systems, adapts conventional cell culture inserts to co-culture placental trophoblasts and endothelial cells, creating a biologically relevant barrier that secretes pregnancy hormones, transports glucose, clears urea, and exhibits selective permeability akin to the in vivo placenta.

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A new Indian placenta-on-chip, which recapitulates hormone secretion, nutrient transfer, and barrier function without complex microfluidics, directly addresses this gap.

The team demonstrated that the chip not only maintains these homeostatic functions but also responds pathologically to hyperglycemic conditions, mimicking gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)—a complication affecting up to 14% of pregnancies globally and linked to adverse outcomes like macrosomia and preterm birth. By exposing the maternal side to elevated glucose levels, the system mirrored key aspects of GDM pathophysiology, opening the door to mechanistic studies and therapeutic screening that were previously limited to animal models, which often poorly replicate human placental physiology. This immediate translational relevance is amplified by the platform's simplicity: unlike many existing placenta-on-chip systems that rely on expensive syringe pumps and tubing, the Indian design uses standard 24-well plate inserts, making it compatible with routine biology labs and high-throughput screening. Such accessibility could dramatically lower barriers for pharmaceutical companies to evaluate fetal drug exposure early in development, a critical need given that over 90% of drugs approved between 2000 and 2010 lacked adequate pregnancy safety data, according to the FDA.

For the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, the placenta-on-chip fills a glaring gap in the preclinical toolkit. Current drug safety assessment relies heavily on animal reproductive toxicology studies, which are time-consuming, ethically contentious, and often fail to predict human teratogenicity. For example, thalidomide, withdrawn in the 1960s after causing severe birth defects, crossed the human placental barrier but was not detected as harmful in the rodent models of the era. A functional human placental barrier model, especially one validated for glucose transport and hormone disruption, could serve as an early go/no-go checkpoint for new chemical entities targeting any therapeutic area where pregnant women might be exposed. Beyond drug safety, the chip could become a standard tool for studying pregnancy-specific diseases like preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction, potentially unlocking new drug targets and biomarkers.

The collaboration between a national health research institute and a leading engineering school underscores India's growing capacity in biofabrication and microphysiological systems. The platform's publication in a high-impact bioprinting journal further signals international validation. With the global organ-on-chip market projected to exceed $300 million by 2028, according to various growth estimates, this cost-effective and scalable technology positions India to contribute meaningfully, particularly in resource-limited settings where complex microfluidic setups are unfeasible. The researchers have indicated that future iterations could incorporate additional cell types, such as fetal immune cells, and integrate with other organs-on-chips for a more holistic 'body-on-chip' approach, potentially revolutionizing how systemic drug effects during pregnancy are modeled.