Cutting-Edge Research from Draper Published in The Microbe
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—A paper written by Draper's Felix Mba Medie, Halee Kim, Christine R. Fisher, Nerses J. Haroutunian, and Jeffrey Borenstein has been published in the journal The Microbe, an open access, peer-reviewed international journal that welcomes research on all aspects of microbiology.
The study found that PREDICT96-ALI discriminates established therapeutics and clinically promising drugs from compounds that do not show clinical efficacy, demonstrating the power of this platform as a tool to improve prediction of human efficacy of drugs before clinical translation.
“This work demonstrates the ability of PREDICT96-ALI to serve as a rapid and accurate tool for identifying effective treatments for emerging biological threats, providing a key capability in strengthening national biosecurity,” said Jeff Borenstein, Laboratory Fellow.
The work also demonstrates that New Approach Methodologies (NAMS), including PREDICT96-ALI, can be used to model viral infectious diseases and to evaluate candidate antiviral treatments. NAMS are one of the tools identified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its recent announcement that it plans to reduce its dependence on animal testing for monoclonal antibodies and other drugs. Read more about Draper's response to the FDA decision to reduce dependence on animal testing.
Draper is a pioneer in MPS technology used to model diseases and drug responses. In its 25-year history of MPS development, Draper has achieved multiple industry firsts: first to culture mammalian cells in a microfluidic device, first durable multi-organ system, first multiplex instrumented MPS, and first robust MPS in high containment.
About Draper
Draper is a non-profit research, development, and manufacturing company that solves some of the nation’s most important challenges. With more than 2,500 employees working in collaboration across 12 locations, Draper delivers transformative, mission-driven solutions that successfully meet our customers’ requirements. These efforts focus on four critical mission areas: Strategic Systems, Space Systems, Electronic Systems, and Biotechnology Systems. To extend our legacy into the future, the Draper Scholars program engages with the next generation of innovators while DraperSPARX™ seeks to partner with startups and small businesses that can further our mission. To learn more about Draper, visit www.draper.com.
Released November 17, 2025
