One of the innovations that came out of the main ERC project (Multicell) was a platform for 3D cell culture. This platform included several innovative aspects, including a microfluidic design, physical and biological protocols, as well as image and data analysis pipelines. The complete platform therefore constituted a unique package that allowed us to reach performances that were far beyond the state of the art. When presenting this technology to biologists, a recurrent response was that the technology addressed several of their needs for 3D culture. In addition to this, such culture formats constitute an important emerging format to better mimic the in vivo behavior, compared with traditional 2D culture techniques. Nevertheless, the complexity of the technology and its level of readiness made it difficult to transfer to external users.
During this ERC-POC project we therefore addressed the questions of the relevance of spinning off a startup company to develop commercially viable version of the technology. This required us to answer two complementary questions: 1- Can the platform be simplified to make it robust on an industrial scale? and 2- is there a sufficient market to justify spinning off a company? The technological parts were addressed by changing the fluid handling techniques, while also streamlining the image acquisition and data analysis. This has led to a new prototype that will soon be placed in the hands of external users to test its functionalities. In parallel, a market study showed a very strong intertest in the technology from biologists in academic labs and pharma, particularly those working in the field of cancer research. Our IPR position was also evaluated and seemed solid.
The answers obtained during this project were very encouraging on both the technical and market aspects. They have formed the basis for contacting several venture capitalists and for applying to several public funding schemes in view of spinning off the startup company in the coming months.
