Sunday, August 17, 2025 8/17/2025

Microheart muscle based discovery and development of inotropic compounds

Award Number: R44TR004250
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER FOR ADVANCING TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2027

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Microheart muscle based discovery and development of inotropic compounds - Inotropes are compounds affecting heart contraction force, either positively or negatively. They are used to adjust heart pumping in conditions like heart failure, hypertension, or cardiomyopathies. However, current agents have limitations, including: common and risky side effects like arrhythmias and blood pressure changes, short duration of use, dangerous drug interactions, and variable efficacy. There is thus an immediate demand for novel inotropic compounds, along with their corresponding novel molecular mechanisms, to empower drug developers to formulate the next wave of cardiac medications. Organos, Inc. is attempting to solve this difficult problem through the development of advanced cardiac drug discovery platforms and technologies. Organos has produced a high- throughput micro-heart muscle (μHM) system engineered from human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). This 384 well format test system has been used to phenotypically characterize a repurposing library of FDA or EMA approved compounds and has uncovered a number of compounds which demonstrate previously undescribed cardiac inotropy. In this proposal, we seek to advance these candidate compounds for potential repurposing and discovery of novel inotropy mechanisms. We propose to first validate our screen results in a more mature engineered tissue platform, a microfluidics based cardiac microphysiological system (MPS), and then verify these results in modern platforms which use adult human primary ventricular myocytes. We will also use bulk RNA sequencing and primary cell phenotypic mapping to attempt to elucidate mechanisms of action of these molecules. Final candidates will be tested in donor human tissue test systems, and rodent in vivo models. The success of this project holds the potential to uncover novel drug mechanisms and therapeutic targets aimed at addressing the need for pharmaceutical inotropic modulation of the heart.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $1,029,043 )
2025	2025	ORGANOS, INC	2956 SAN PABLO AVE STE 200	BERKELEY	CA	94702	ALAMEDA	USA	National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences	001	3	8/13/2025	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$1,029,043
2025	2023	ORGANOS, INC	2956 SAN PABLO AVE STE 200	BERKELEY	CA	94702	ALAMEDA	USA	National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences	000	2	10/16/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $1,029,043

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $351,332 )
2023	2023	ORGANOS, INC.	130 STANLEY HALL MC 3220	BERKELEY	CA	94720	ALAMEDA	USA	National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences	000	2	5/5/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$351,332
														Subtotal = $351,332

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $622,880 )
2022	2022	ORGANOS, INC.	130 STANLEY HALL MC 3220	BERKELEY	CA	94720	ALAMEDA	USA	National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences	000	1	8/11/2022	NEW	$622,880
														Subtotal = $622,880

Grand Total All Awards = $2,003,255

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Microheart muscle based discovery and development of inotropic compounds

Award Number: R44TR004250

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER FOR ADVANCING TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/15/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2027

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer