Cellbox Labs, a Riga, Latvia-based biotech developing lab-grown “mini organs” on a chip, has raised €3.3 million in non-dilutive funding to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its platform.
The financing includes support from the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Tech4Cure initiative, which aims to strengthen healthcare innovation capacity within the EU Single Market.
Drug testing without animal trials
Founded by Gatis Mozoļevskis, Roberts Rimša, and Artūrs Ābols, Cellbox Labs builds micro-engineered chips that replicate human organ function — including kidney, gut, lung, blood-brain barrier, and pancreas — enabling safer, faster, and more predictive drug testing.
The vertically stacked channel system separates endothelial and epithelial layers with a permeable membrane, uses non-absorbing materials for higher accuracy, and supports experiments under controlled gas conditions for hypoxia. Chips are mass-manufactured for reproducibility and can be run in scalable formats from 8 to 24 chips with an integrated modular manifold.
Advertisement
Funding to scale AI-enabled drug discovery workflows
The capital will be used to:
- Scale an automated, primary cell–based gut-on-chip model in partnership with Altis Biosystems for pharmaceutical applications
- Develop personalised models using iPSCs and patient-derived microbiota for precision drug, food, and probiotic response testing
- Embed oxygen and pH sensors directly into chips for real-time data capture without external hardware
- Benchmark GLP-1 generic compounds on pancreatic islet chips under dynamic flow, improving biosimilar testing relevance over static cultures and animal studies
- Create digital twin models with ESQlabs and MPSlabs to simulate drug absorption, distribution, and effects, integrating with physiologically based human models for better in vitro–in vivo translation (IVIVE)
Riding the regulatory wave
Recent changes — including the FDA’s removal of animal testing requirements for certain drugs and the NIH’s mandate for organ-on-chip and AI integration in funded research — have accelerated demand for Cellbox Labs technology.
“Our platform is designed for scalability, reproducibility, and integration with next-generation AI workflows,” said co-founder and CEO Gatis Mozoļevskis of Cellbox Labs. “This funding positions us to meet the industry’s need for safer, faster, and more human-relevant drug discovery.”
