Project description
Standardising organoid-based assays for clinical diagnosis
Organoids are miniaturised in vitro mimetics of organs derived from corresponding stem cells. They have been used to study organ physiology and disease biology as well as for pharmaceutical drug discovery purposes. The aim of the EU-funded Gri3D project is to make this technology user friendly and bring it to the healthcare industry. The team have generated a biocompatible hydrogel platform for growing organoids in a standardised manner, suitable for clinical diagnostics and drug screening. Production will be scaled up to industrial level, and following technical and economic assessment, the organoid assays will be ready for commercialisation.
Objective
The ability to generate miniature organ models in a dish, termed organoids, from patient stem cells has opened endless possibilities for applications in precision medicine. SUN bioscience SA, a spin-off company of EPFL in Switzerland, was founded in 2016 with the ambition to move these organoid cultures from basic research to the Health Care industry.
To reach this goal, SUN bioscience has developed Gri3D, a microstructured biocompatible hydrogel platform, and aims to establish this technology as a new standard for growing organoids at industrial scale and precision. Gri3D prototypes have been field tested with over 30 European academic and pharmaceutical R&D groups. In addition, SUN bioscience has developed an industrial automated manufacturing mechanism for Gri3D that is now being translated into the world-wide first machine, Hydra I, that auomates liquid handling with hydrogel microembossing.
The objective of this feasibility study is to verify the technical, economical and practical viability of Gri3D and to ensure its successful market entry in Europe. Specifically, the first step is to validate the production capacity of Hydra I by producing 1’000 Gri3D units, which corresponds to one tenth of the total annual target production volume.
In a second step, SUN bioscience aims to validate the market by commercializing these 1’000 Gri3D units to existing customers and to expand its customer base to a total of 20-40 recurrent clients.
According to our current strategy, SUN bioscience will run at maximum single line production capacity with cumulative revenues of >€2M within 3 years after market introduction of Gri3D. The 3D technologies market is expected to reach €600M by 2021. The long-term business objective is to implement organoid assays on Gri3D and to establish SUN bioscience as a leader in clinical diagnostics with the intention to initiate a phase 2 SME instrument project along this path.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug discovery
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologycells technologiesstem cells
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespersonalized medicine
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.2.1.2. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Nanotechnologies Main Programme
- H2020-EU.2.1.5. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced manufacturing and processing
- H2020-EU.2.1.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Advanced materials
- H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
1015 LAUSANNE
Switzerland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.