Emulate launches AVA™ Emulation System to replace animal testing with high-throughput organ-on-chip research

Boston-based Emulate, Inc. has introduced the AVA™ Emulation System, an AI-ready, high-throughput platform designed to advance human-relevant drug discovery by replacing animal studies with scalable Organ-on-Chip models.

What is the AVA Emulation System and why it matters to drug developers

Emulate, Inc., a privately held life sciences innovator based in Boston and a global leader in Organ-on-Chip technology, has commercially launched its AVA™ Emulation System—a fully automated benchtop platform that allows researchers to culture, incubate, and image up to 96 independent Organ-Chip samples simultaneously. The system merges microfluidics, environmental control, and imaging in one device and aims to offer a viable, scalable alternative to traditional animal models in pharmaceutical R&D.

The launch responds to increasing regulatory momentum around non-animal methods. In particular, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated a regulatory trajectory where animal studies become “the exception rather than the norm.” Emulate’s new AVA platform directly supports that transition, offering human tissue-level data at unprecedented scale and automation.

Organ-on-a-Chip systems are bioengineered microfluidic devices that simulate the physiological responses of human organs. Emulate has been at the forefront of this technology, with its Liver-Chip S1 model already accepted into the FDA’s ISTAND (Innovative Science and Technology Approaches for New Drugs) pilot program. AVA builds upon that groundwork by expanding throughput and lowering entry barriers for advanced preclinical biology.

How Emulate’s AVA platform reduces drug development time and cost

According to Emulate’s internal validation, the AVA Emulation System delivers a four-fold reduction in consumable spending and cuts in-lab manual labor by 50% compared to earlier-generation Organ-Chip systems. A single 7-day experiment on AVA can yield over 30,000 data points through automated imaging and daily assay sampling. With downstream omics included, a single study may generate millions of multi-modal data inputs—making the system well-suited to AI-driven analytics in target discovery and safety prediction.

The proprietary Chip-Array™ consumable, which integrates 12 independent Organ-Chips into a standard SBS (Society for Biomolecular Sciences) plate format, facilitates seamless compatibility with multichannel pipettes and robotic liquid handlers. This enhances lab automation and throughput without the need for significant infrastructure upgrades.

Laboratory teams can now run entire microplate-scale drug screenings within a single device. For pharmaceutical companies pursuing complex combinatorial or dose-response studies, this means the ability to rank-order candidates faster and more effectively. Smaller biotech startups benefit from enterprise-level screening capabilities without increasing headcount or capital investments.

The regulatory and market landscape for organ-on-chip technologies

The AVA platform arrives at a time of regulatory change and growing market demand for alternative toxicology models. A 2022 study published in Communications Medicine demonstrated that Emulate’s Liver-Chip S1 achieved 87% sensitivity and 100% specificity in predicting drug-induced liver injury—an area where animal models frequently fail. The FDA’s inclusion of this chip in the ISTAND initiative marks a significant institutional endorsement of human-relevant in vitro testing.

Moreover, recent amendments to U.S. regulatory frameworks, including the FDA Modernization Act 2.0, signal a widening acceptance of non-animal methods in drug and chemical safety evaluation. These shifts create market tailwinds for platforms like AVA, which provide scalable human-tissue analogs at lower cost and with greater experimental fidelity.

In the words of Emulate’s CEO Jim Corbett, “AVA gives scientists unprecedented experimental capacity with the biological depth of live human tissue—something no other platform can match.”

Industry validation and expert insights on adoption

Institutional users are already beginning to validate the platform’s commercial potential. Emulate cited a leading global pharmaceutical firm where a scientist used the Liver-Chip ahead of traditional non-human primate studies to screen lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug candidates. This decision reportedly saved millions of dollars and shaved years off the development timeline.

In a prepared statement, Emulate’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Lorna Ewart emphasized, “Moving towards reduction and in some cases replacement of animal models demands both biological fidelity and throughput. AVA meets those dual requirements, empowering teams to rank-order lead candidates, pinpoint off-target toxicities, and advance safer therapies with unprecedented speed and confidence.”

Expert sentiment from institutional research circles echoes this view. Analysts tracking emerging preclinical technologies have noted growing investor interest in scalable Organ-on-Chip systems, particularly those that integrate seamlessly into existing laboratory workflows. The ability to generate AI-compatible datasets is viewed as a key differentiator in the broader context of digital biology and predictive toxicology.

Broader applications beyond drug development

While biopharma remains the primary target market, the AVA Emulation System‘s relevance extends to contract research organizations (CROs), consumer health firms, and regulatory agencies. Cosmetic and industrial chemical testing, often restricted or discouraged from animal use due to ethical and policy reasons, stands to benefit from AVA’s high-throughput and human-relevant format.

Environmental safety programs can also use the system to evaluate pollutants or additives under conditions that more closely resemble human physiology. This supports faster, more ethically aligned regulatory decision-making in areas where traditional in vivo testing is infeasible or undesirable.

Emulate’s commercial strategy includes a global rollout, with orders now open for AVA systems. Demonstration requests and pricing inquiries are being accepted directly through the company’s website.

AVA’s strategic role in Emulate’s portfolio

Emulate continues to position itself as a frontrunner in the transition toward human-relevant in vitro systems. The AVA platform complements its existing portfolio of Liver-Chips, Brain-Chips, and Lung-Chips, and offers a route to scale that was previously limited by labor intensity and cost.

Analysts expect further filings under the FDA’s alternative models programs, particularly as more pharma and biotech players aim to derisk early-stage drug development. If performance metrics hold, AVA could accelerate Emulate’s growth trajectory and deepen its institutional partnerships.

Emulate is not currently listed on public exchanges, but continued validation of its AVA system may increase interest from private equity, venture capital, and potentially strategic acquirers in the biomedical instrumentation space.

With AI-driven discovery, ethical constraints on animal research, and regulatory shifts all converging, Emulate’s AVA Emulation System could represent a pivotal step toward redefining the standards for preclinical testing and drug discovery.