Hesperos awarded Phase IIB SBIR grant to investigate drug-induced cognitive impairment using its Human-on-a-Chip®

17 October 2025

Hesperos Inc. has been awarded a Phase IIB SBIR grant from the National Institute on Aging to investigate the effects of medication on cognitive impairment.

In humans, drug-induced cognitive decline may arise from subtle network‑level disruption, synaptic dysfunction, neurotransmitter imbalance and moderate neuroinflammation. However, these effects are very challenging to detect using standard in vitro models and animal testing. Cognitive decline is typically assessed using rodent behavioural tests of memory, learning, and attention that pose difficulties in interpretation of rodent-specific motivations. In addition to the lack of direct equivalents of human behaviour, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underly animal behaviour differ in humans. Model organisms commonly used to investigate cognitive function diverge drastically from humans in terms of brain anatomy and physiology.

Furthermore, in contrast to laboratory animals, human patients may vary in their susceptibility to drug-induced cognitive behaviour depending on their age, gender, comorbidities, polypharmacy and other risk factors. Of particular concern is the additive burden of anticholinergic agents which has been linked to onset of cognitive decline, including in patients that may already be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

To study how combinations of anticholinergic and other medications contribute to drug-induced cognitive impairment Hesperos will leverage its Human-on-a-Chip® technology that captures human-specific biology.

“Understanding how combinations of drugs affect the brain is critical to improving safety for aging populations. By recreating these interactions in a human-relevant system, we can generate data that reveal how specific drug combinations impact brain function, helping drive better clinical decisions and improving healthcare overall.” said James J. Hickman, Hesperos' Chief Scientist.

Data generated from Hesperos' multi-organ systems will be fed into GalenusRx’ APPRAISE® clinician-friendly software platform to guide better informed and safer prescribing decisions.