COMPANY OVERVIEW
Hesperos, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, pioneered the "Human-on-a-Chip" concept with pumpless multi-organ microphysiological systems. Founded by Dr. Michael Shuler (Cornell) and Dr. James Hickman (UCF), the company creates interconnected organ models that recapitulate systemic human physiology for drug testing without external pumps or complex fluidics.
PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
- Pumpless Design: Gravity-driven recirculation eliminates mechanical pumps and bubble issues
- Multi-Organ Integration: Heart, liver, skeletal muscle, neuron, and immune modules
- Serum-Free Media: Defined conditions for reproducibility and reduced variability
- Functional Readouts: Real-time electrical (MEA) and contractile force measurements
- Long-Term Culture: Stable function maintained for 28+ days
KEY APPLICATIONS
- Cardiotoxicity assessment with functional cardiac modules (contractility, electrophysiology)
- Neuromuscular disease modeling (ALS, myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophy)
- Multi-organ drug metabolism and distribution studies
- Efficacy testing for rare disease therapeutics
- Patient-specific disease modeling using iPSC-derived cells
DIFFERENTIATORS
Hesperos uniquely combines functional readouts (electrical activity, force generation) with multi-organ integration. Their systems are particularly suited for neuromuscular junction studies and diseases affecting the nervous system-muscle interface where functional measurements are critical for drug efficacy assessment.