Ananda Devices

An ‘organ on a chip’ to accelerate drug discovery

Neurological disorders place a tremendous strain on households and health services. There are no effective therapies or reliable diagnostics available with over 20% of the world’s population suffering from neurological diseases.

A pharmacologist and biochemist with over 20 years of experience, Margaret is devoting her life to enhancing drug discovery as a result of her mother having suffered from no treatments available for these conditions.

CEO and founder of Ananda Devices, founded in 2015, Margaret heads a team of experts in the fields of stem cells, microfluidics, and nanotechnology. The team produced a microdevice for growing human organs-on-a-chip to enable drug testing directly on patients’ derived tissues. 

The Solution

Ananda’s technology connects neurons on a chip 60 times faster than they can grow in vivo. Their patented easy-to-use devices have reduced reagent costs by 90% and increased experimental yield by 200x. The company has sold over 3,000 organs-on-a-chip and can produce up to 500 a day, with the global market expected to grow 69.4% a year to reach over $6 billion by 2025. 

“Our patented easy-to-use devices have reduced reagent costs by 90% and increased experimental yield by 200x.”

The Journey

Margaret was eager to have a positive contribution to society, “I knew I needed to take the leap because that is how I can turn my idea into a tangible impact.” She notes “patents and papers only impact everyday lives when they become a product, a therapy, or a tool. I’ve grown tremendously since thanks to the right support to guide me along my entrepreneurial journey.” 

According to Margaret, she was a scientist all her life but lacked the entrepreneurial experience needed to build a successful company. That’s where District 3 supported her. She got access to coaching, a workspace, a state-of-the-art wet lab for prototyping, and many services to help her tackle all the challenges along her journey. 

Margaret transformed herself from leading researcher to a proven entrepreneur capable of securing joint product development contracts with Fortune 500 companies, developing an international network of influencers, and raising over $ 2 million capital from key investors.