Malaria-on-a-chip model
- News
A milestone for therapeutic research
A groundbreaking study demonstrates how a human “malaria-on-a-chip” model is advancing the urgently needed but animal-free search for new malaria therapies. Instead of relying on cruel and unreliable animal experiments, this innovative technology delivers relevant data directly from a system that simulates human biology.
Each year, more than 600,000 people die as a result of malaria infection, primarily caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Despite decades of research, developing new drugs remains a major challenge, as different parasite strains repeatedly develop resistance. Moreover, “animal models” used in the past display fundamental biological differences from humans and therefore provide only limited insights for research.
New hope comes from the “malaria-on-a-chip” developed by the company Hesperos, Inc. This chip mimics human organs by linking liver, spleen, and blood vessel cells. Researchers introduced infected red blood cells into the system and observed malaria-typical disease processes, including damage to the inner lining of blood vessels and immune responses. The model replicated the parasite’s unique ability to hide within the vascular wall of the human bloodstream to evade filtration by the spleen. By infecting the system with different parasite strains, scientists were also able to trace the pathogen’s entire life cycle within the cells and test the effects of established drugs such as chloroquine, artesunate, and lumefantrine.
Another breakthrough is the use of collected data to create so-called digital medical twins. Using mathematical models that simulate how drugs act in the human body, the developers of the malaria-on-a-chip system were able to translate laboratory results into actual efficacy and toxicity values for humans. This innovative approach makes it possible to virtually assess drug effectiveness and safety for particularly vulnerable patient groups, such as pregnant women or malnourished children, without the need for clinical studies based on limited data.
The study illustrates how combining advanced laboratory technology with predictive modelling is propelling biomedical research into a new, human-based era—a future without animal testing.
Reference
Rupar et al. Translation of a human-based malaria-on-a-chip phenotypic disease model for in vivo applications. Advanced Science 2025; 21:e05206