Organoids have rapidly emerged as one of the most powerful tools in biomedical research. These three-dimensional cellular systems, derived from stem cells or patient biopsies, replicate the complexity of human tissues in ways that flat two-dimensional cultures or animal models cannot [1,2]. By capturing tissue heterogeneity, microarchitecture, and functional activity, organoids have become indispensable for studying disease mechanisms, testing therapies, and advancing personalised medicine.
Although the scientific promise of organoids is clear, their widespread adoption has depended heavily on researchers willing to push the boundaries of culture methods and preservation. Across the world, academic laboratories, biotech innovators, and contract research organisations (CROs) are building disease models with organoids that are already influencing translational science.
This article highlights some of these pioneers while also addressing a critical barrier they all face. The challenge lies in preserving and transporting fragile three-dimensional structures in a way that maintains reproducibility and function.
Academia: Pioneering Disease Models with Organoids
Universities and research institutes have led the way in demonstrating what organoids can achieve.
- MIT’s Linda Griffith has been a leading figure in engineering endometrial organoids, advancing research into conditions such as endometriosis [3]. Her laboratory’s work shows how organoids provide insights into diseases that are difficult to model in animals or standard cultures. This opens new possibilities for therapeutic discovery.
- Hans Clevers and colleagues at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands pioneered many of the foundational protocols for patient-derived organoids. Their work has expanded into oncology, cystic fibrosis, and intestinal diseases, demonstrating that organoids can mirror patient-specific biology [2].
- In infectious disease research, Xiaoyang Qian and collaborators developed brain-region-specific organoids to study the effects of Zika virus exposure [4]. This innovation opened new opportunities for modelling viral infections and their impact on human development.
For academic researchers, the attraction of organoids lies in their ability to generate mechanistic insights that are not possible with animal models. However, academic groups also face logistical barriers. Exchanging organoids between collaborating laboratories usually involves cryopreservation, which brings risks of reduced viability, longer recovery times, and irreproducibility across sites.
Biotech: Driving Innovation and Translational Relevance
Biotech companies are increasingly adopting organoids to accelerate drug discovery and enable personalised medicine.
- HUB Organoid Technology, spun out of Clevers’ group, provides patient-derived organoid biobanks that reflect the genetic diversity of real-world populations. These are already being used by pharmaceutical partners to test therapies across stratified patient subtypes.
- The Organoid Company focuses on scaling up organoid production through automation platforms. This approach enables consistent disease models in large numbers, which is essential for translating organoids from research tools into reliable industry assets.
- Stem Pharm specialises in neural organoids for modelling central nervous system diseases such as neurodegeneration and brain tumours. Their work provides biotechs and pharmaceutical companies with predictive preclinical models in areas where animal testing often falls short.
- Novoheart has developed cardiac “mini-hearts” with functioning chambers, enabling drug developers to test cardiac safety in ways that traditional in vitro systems cannot [5].
For biotech firms, organoids are not just about discovery. They are about creating a platform for personalised therapies. Yet here too, cryopreservation remains a limiting factor. Delivering viable organoids to pharmaceutical partners across borders requires either costly cold-chain logistics or acceptance of significant viability loss after thawing.
CROs: Scaling Organoids Into Client Services
Contract Research Organisations are uniquely positioned to bring organoids into mainstream drug discovery and toxicology workflows. Their clients in pharmaceutical and biotech companies demand reproducibility, scalability, and efficiency.
- Crown Bioscience, a leading CRO, has integrated patient-derived tumour organoids into oncology preclinical pipelines. These models allow pharmaceutical partners to test efficacy against clinically relevant systems, bridging the gap between laboratory findings and clinical outcomes.
- Mimetas, known for its OrganoPlate technology, combines organoids with microfluidics to create advanced disease and toxicity models. This approach is already being used in collaborations with industry partners to study kidney, liver, and neuronal biology [6].
For CROs, organoids represent both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity lies in differentiation by offering cutting-edge models that clients increasingly request. The challenge lies in operations. Delivering those models consistently across sites and within tight project timelines is difficult. Cryogenic shipping of organoids is expensive, slow, and fragile. This is not compatible with the demands of global CRO workflows.
The Preservation Challenge Across Sectors
What unites academia, biotech, and CROs is not just their enthusiasm for organoids but their shared frustration with preservation. Cryopreservation introduces ice crystal damage, batch-to-batch variability, and lengthy recovery periods [7]. Cold-chain logistics require liquid nitrogen or dry ice, both of which are costly and prone to customs delays [8]. For organoids, these limitations become barriers to reproducibility, collaboration, and scalability.
Atelerix and the Shift to Ambient Preservation
This is where Atelerix’s TissueReadyTM and WellReady™ ambient preservation technology plays a vital role. By encapsulating organoids in a protective hydrogel matrix, Atelerix has demonstrated that organoids can be stored and shipped at room temperature for up to 10 days, including brain, breast cancer, cardiac, colorectal, lung cancer, liver organoids, and more. Preservation in Atelerix’s technology maintains the viability, structural integrity, and functionality of organoids, without the need for cryopreservation. For example, liver organoids demonstrate hepatic marker expression, metabolic activity as measured via ATP assays, and cytochrome P450 enzyme activity preserved after 5 days storage in WellReadyTM [9].
This approach removes reliance on cold-chain infrastructure and eliminates the freeze and thaw bottleneck. It makes organoids far more practical for multi-site projects, collaborative research, and CRO service delivery.
Conclusion: Unlocking the Potential of Organoids in Disease Modelling
The progress being made by academic researchers, biotech innovators, and CROs demonstrates that organoids are no longer a niche curiosity. They are already reshaping how we model disease and test therapies.
The real question is not whether organoids can model disease. The question is how to make them reproducible, scalable, and deliverable in real-world workflows. That requires a change in preservation.
With TissueReadyTM and WellReady™, Atelerix is providing the missing piece. By making organoids stable, and ready to use at room temperature, we enable researchers and CROs to scale up their services and collaborations without the limitations of cryopreservation. The pioneers highlighted here show what is possible with organoids. Atelerix makes it possible for everyone.
References
- Lancaster MA, Knoblich JA. Organogenesis in a dish: Modeling development and disease using organoid technologies. Science. 2014;345(6194):1247125.
- Clevers H. Modeling development and disease with organoids. Cell. 2016;165(7):1586–1597.
- Time Magazine. Linda Griffith and the Future of Uterine Organoids. 2024.
- Qian X, et al. Brain-region-specific organoids using mini-bioreactors for modelling ZIKV exposure. Cell. 2016;165(5):1238–1254.
- Wired. These Beating Mini-Hearts Could Save Big Bucks and Maybe Lives. 2018.
- Mimetas. OrganoPlate Technology Overview. 2023.
- Boretto M, et al. Development of organoid technology in reproductive science. Nat Rev Urol. 2017;14(12):755–775.
- Hunt CJ. Technical considerations in the freezing, low-temperature storage and thawing of stem cells for cellular therapies. Transfus Med Hemother. 2019;46(3):134–150.
- Atelerix Ltd. Storage of Liver Organoids at Room Temperature Using WellReady™. White Paper v2.1. 2023.
