We are further along than you might think. Scientific innovations that can replace animal testing are being developed more and more often, but unfortunately implementation of said innovations often leaves much to be desired. To increase and accelerate the impact of animal-free research on the use of laboratory animals, we host a Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge every year.
During this challenge four teams of researchers work incredibly hard to turn their animal-free innovations into a startup company. The team with the best business plan wins the challenge and a substantial cash prize. This year, that team is: Hello R&D!
Team Hello R&D wins 25 thousand euros!
Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge
Together with GameChanger Challenge, we have coached four teams of animal-free researchers over the past few months in setting up their own business. Through the Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge, we help researchers turn their scientific breakthroughs into a well-thought-out business case, thus accelerating the transition to an animal-free world.
And the winner is…
Team Hello R&D is the winner of the Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge 2024!
Researchers Sabine Fuchs, Ibrahim Ardisasmita, and Indi Joore are developing an organoid made up of the key cell type in the liver. This model functions as a reliable human system with which researchers can predict the effects of drugs on the liver—not only that, but the model also enables personalized research.
We’re further along than you think
We all want safe medicines that work. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of laboratory animals pay the price for this every year. To investigate whether a drug works, it is first extensively tested. And because we want to know not just the effect of a drug on one organ but on our entire body, animal testing eventually becomes the method of choice.
In vain: because about 90% of the drugs developed with animal testing turn out to be unsafe for humans in the end. Fortunately, this is changing, thanks in part to the body-on-a-chip. Now that the chip has been developed, extensive testing and scaling up are required. We are therefore closely following this wonderful development!
Proud of all teams
It goes without saying that we are incredibly proud of all the teams that participated in the Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge 2024. Teams Hello R&D, StemXBio, NeuroGut Insights, and NephroClear—thank you all for your efforts and good luck with your innovations!