Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

UK launches £20m organoid programme, £2m to cut animal tests

8/12/2026

31 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, led by Prof. Matthias Zilbauer, launched a £20 million MRC organoid programme.
The programme will build a library of organoids that mimic organ functions and drug responses, targeting the 2.54 million animal tests Britain recorded in 2024.
Innovate UK granted £2 million to nine projects to cut use of dogs and monkeys, including VivoSphere’s gel-sphere heart-cell test that can spare 50-100 animal tests per drug.

1 of 1

Story summary

The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, led by Prof. Matthias Zilbauer, launched a £20 million MRC organoid programme.
The programme will build a library of organoids that mimic organ functions and drug responses, targeting the 2.54 million animal tests Britain recorded in 2024.
Innovate UK granted £2 million to nine projects to cut use of dogs and monkeys, including VivoSphere’s gel-sphere heart-cell test that can spare 50-100 animal tests per drug.