Emulate
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Donald Ingber, James Coon |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Jim Corbett (CEO) |
| Products | Organs-on-Chips technology, Human Emulation System |
| Website | emulatebio |
Emulate, Inc. is a biotechnology firm that has brought to market Organs-on-Chips technology—a platform based on human cells designed to mimic organ-level activities for modeling both healthy and diseased conditions. This innovative system aids pharmaceutical development, product innovation, and the evaluation of drugs, chemicals, and food products regarding their effects on human health. Emulate collaborates with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on a precision medicine project employing Organs-on-Chips to equip healthcare providers with enhanced data on patient-specific therapeutic responses. Additionally, the company has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to promote the use of its Human Emulation System in regulatory product testing.
Technology
The Organs-on-Chips technology developed by Emulate reproduces the functional characteristics of organs such as the liver, intestine, brain, kidney, and lung. These Organ-Chips are approximately the size of an AA battery and contain two fluidic channels that simulate blood circulation and other bodily fluids. Constructed from a flexible polymer material, they are capable of stretching to imitate physiological movements like breathing or peristalsis. Emulate’s Human Emulation System combines these Organ-Chips with specialized hardware and software designed to facilitate operation, focusing on replicating the microenvironment of organs within the human body. The Zoë Culture Module instrument delivers pressure-driven flow that reproduces perfusion pressure and shear forces experienced in vivo.
History
Originating from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Emulate was established based on technology invented and refined there. The scientific founder, Donald Ingber, founded the company around 2013. James Coon co-founded Emulate and initially served as CEO, with Jim Corbett currently holding the CEO position.
Funding
Emulate secured $12 million during its initial funding round in July 2014. This was followed by a Series B round in March 2016 that raised $28 million from investors such as NanoDimension, ALS Finding a Cure, Atel Ventures, and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings. In February 2018, strategic collaborations were formed with pharmaceutical companies Roche and Takeda. The Series C financing round closed in June 2018 under the leadership of Silicon Valley’s Founders Fund. More recently, in September 2021, Emulate completed a Series E funding round amounting to $82 million aimed at broadening its organ-on-a-chip product portfolio and commercial initiatives.