Latvian Biotech Cellbox Labs Raises €3.3M to Advance Organ-on-Chip Drug Discovery Platform
Key Insights
Cellbox Labs (search) secured €3.3 million in non-dilutive funding, including state aid from the EU's "Tech4Cure" IPCEI healthcare initiative, to accelerate development of its organ-on-chip technology.
The company's platform features vertically stacked channels with permeable membranes that can model multiple organs including kidney, gut, lung, blood-brain barrier, and pancreas for pharmaceutical applications.
Key development initiatives include scaling automated gut-on-chip models with Altis Biosystems (search), integrating real-time oxygen and pH sensors, and creating digital twin models for improved drug testing predictions.
Riga-based Cellbox Labs (search) has secured €3.3 million in non-dilutive funding to accelerate development of its organ-on-chip technology platform, positioning the company to capitalize on the pharmaceutical industry's shift toward alternative testing methods. Part of the funding comes from state aid under the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the healthcare sector, known as "Tech4Cure," which strengthens EU industrial resilience and reinforces the Single Market.
Founded in 2020 by Artūrs Ābols, Gatis Mozoļevskis, and Roberts Rimša, Cellbox Labs (search) has developed an advanced organ-on-chip platform featuring a vertically stacked channel system with a permeable membrane separating endothelial (search) and epithelial (search) layers. This setup enables modeling of various organs such as the kidney, gut, lung, blood-brain barrier, and pancreas.
Advanced Platform Technology
The company's platform is made with non-absorbing materials and is ideal for drug discovery, supporting controlled gas conditions for hypoxia studies while being mass-produced for consistency. An automated system allows flexible experiment design, lowers manual effort, and scales throughput from 8 to 24 chips using a modular manifold.
"Personalised gut-on-chip systems are key to accurately predicting individual responses to drugs, food, and probiotics, unlocking new value for the pharma, nutrition, and functional food industries," the company stated.
Strategic Development Initiatives
The funding will be channeled into four key initiatives designed to enhance the platform's capabilities and market readiness. First, in collaboration with Altis Biosystems (search), Cellbox Labs (search) will scale an automated, primary cell-based gut-on-chip model for pharmaceutical applications, moving toward personalized models using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and patient-derived microbiota.
Second, the company will integrate oxygen and pH sensors across all organ-on-chip assays. These built-in sensors will deliver live experimental data without external equipment, addressing the industry's growing demand for high-throughput data generation in AI-driven drug discovery.
Biosimilar Testing and Digital Innovation
The third initiative involves testing GLP-1 (search) generic compounds on pancreatic islet (search) organ-on-chip systems under dynamic flow. These results will be benchmarked against static cultures and animal models to enhance the relevance of biosimilar testing and improve the physiological relevance of drug evaluation.
In the fourth initiative, Cellbox Labs (search) will collaborate with ESQlabs (search) and MPSlabs (search) to build digital twin models of its in vitro systems. These high-resolution simulations will model drug absorption, distribution, and response, and integrate with physiologically based models to improve in vitro–in vivo translation (IVIVE).
Regulatory Alignment and Market Positioning
This strategic roadmap aligns with significant regulatory developments, including the FDA's plan to phase out animal testing requirements for certain drugs and the NIH's mandate to include computer modeling, AI, and organ-on-chip technologies in funded research. The company's approach addresses the industry's need for predictive, data-rich, and personalized drug testing platforms without relying on animal trials.
The startup had previously raised €935,000 in a 2024 pre-seed round led by Latvian Buildit VC (search), with participation from LatBAN (search) angels, ASP Asset Management AIFP (search), and private investor Ansis Spridzans. With its latest capital injection, Cellbox Labs (search) aims to accelerate its push for advanced drug testing platforms that better predict human responses to therapeutic interventions.