Quicker, cheaper and safer — the motivation behind Neopurpose Therapeutics. Graduate student Mohamed Eltokhy — from the lab of Sanjay K. Srivastava, PhD, University Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology — leads the manufacturing team producing bio-printed tumors on chips, since his former team mate, Shreyas Gaikwad, PhD, (Biomedical Sciences ’24) graduated.

The 3D prints support testing for the safety and efficacy of potential anti-cancer drugs. The passage of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act in 2022 spurred the idea for this experimentation, which encourages alternatives to animal testing for drug safety and effectiveness.

Team members predict pharmaceutical companies will quickly adopt this testing strategy in the future because it can be more precise and allows for evaluating effective therapies at earlier stages, potentially saving time and money.

Neopurpose Therapeutics was one of 14 start-up teams selected by the Texas Tech Innovation Hub at Research Park for the 2024 — 2025 Accelerator Cohort — boosting confidence in its strategy.