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India Develops Indigenous Placenta-on-Chip

  • 06 Jul 2026

In July 2026, researchers from ICMR-National Institute for Research on Women's Health (ICMR-NIRWoH) and IIT Bombay developed India's first indigenous placenta-on-chip platform to study human pregnancy.

Key Points

  • Indigenous Innovation: The team developed India's first placenta-on-chip platform to recreate the human placental barrier under laboratory conditions.
  • Key Functions: Replicates hormone production, nutrient transfer, waste removal and selective maternal-foetal barrier functions.
  • Applications: Enables research on pregnancy complications, drug safety and placental biology using human-relevant models.
  • Unique Feature: Designed to be simple, scalable and compatible with conventional laboratory infrastructure.
  • Significance: Strengthens maternal health research while reducing dependence on animal experimentation.