Biomedical research is moving into a new era. For decades, animal models have been the default route for preclinical testing and safety assessment, but their limitations are becoming increasingly apparent. Many drug candidates that showed promising efficacy and safety profiles in animal studies later failed during human clinical trials because animal models did not adequately capture human-specific biology, metabolism, or toxicity.

At the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology researchers are growing pediatric tumor organoids to establish the Central Máxima Organoid Biobank (CMOB). This essential work is traditionally time-consuming. To optimize this process, Karin Sanders (Associate group leader Máxima Clevers group & head of Central Máxima Organoid Biobank) and Jarno Drost (Professor at the Princess Máxima Center) will test the RPMotion bioreactor from Orgonex. This innovative technology is designed to grow organoids more efficiently, significantly reducing the manual labor and materials required.

Boost for Medical, Biotechnological, and Pharmaceutical Research. Technology developer and manufacturer Demcon acquired a majority stake in Orgonex at the end of last year. The spin-off from Utrecht University / the Innovation Center for Advanced Therapies (ICAT) has developed a bioreactor for cultivating organoids. Organoids are miniature organs used for medical, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical research. Orgonex's bioreactor yields five times higher than traditional manual cultivation methods and is more compact and straightforward than other automated cultivation solutions. This system offers an accessible solution for efficiently cultivating sufficient organoids and can be easily integrated into existing laboratory infrastructures at academic research groups and pharmaceutical companies. Together with Demcon, Orgonex is now developing the bioreactor into a professional system that will be launched later this year.