Developing new medicines is a long and costly process, taking 10 to 15 years and billions of dollars. Over 90% of drug candidates fail in clinical trials, mainly because early testing methods don’t accurately predict how drugs will work in humans.
Traditional cell models are too basic, and animal testing often doesn’t show how the drug will perform in people, causing late-stage failures and wasted money. Here’s where Geneva-based healthtech startup FluoSphera is working to change this by offering a more human-relevant way to test drugs before they reach clinical trials.
To do so, the Swiss company has raised CHF 1.15 million to scale its human-based preclinical testing platform. The round was led by Soulmates Ventures and a Swiss business angel, with participation from IndieBio New York.
Transforming drug discovery
Founded in 2021 by Dr. Gregory Segala (CEO/CSO), Dr. Clelia Bourgoint (VP Ops), and Dr. Aurélien Roux (Scientific Advisor), FluoSphera develops a patented 3D multiplexed in vitro platform that enables drug developers to test compounds across multiple human tissue models simultaneously. The platform can combine up to six or seven human tissue types in a single well, using fluorescent coding to track each tissue type independently.
This setup allows researchers to observe how different organs interact and assess both drug efficacy and potential toxicity in one experiment. By providing earlier, more reliable insights, the platform helps developers identify promising molecules sooner and reduce the risk of late-stage failures.
FluoSphera already works with biotech and pharmaceutical companies, with strong traction in antibody-drug conjugate testing, and collaborates with Revvity on high-throughput screening. Its approach also aligns with regulatory shifts such as the FDA’s Modernisation Act 3.0, which supports non-animal testing methods in preclinical research.
According to the company’s claims, drug developers using FluoSphera’s technology can save between $100 and $ 500 million per molecule by reducing both developmental risks and clinical and time-to-market costs.
Moving forward, the company plans to make advanced human tissue modelling more accessible to set a new standard for in vitro testing in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and academia.
The aim is to accelerate drug development and reduce the need for animal testing. The company hopes its platform will support precision medicine by customising drug tests for different patient groups.
What’s next?
The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale commercial collaborations with pharmaceutical companies and CROs, strengthen its business development team, and further develop its AI and automation capabilities for large-scale imaging analysis.
The company will also use the capital to expand its presence in the US and EU and take early steps into the Asian market.
“We’re building the next generation of preclinical tools, not just to get new medicine faster to market and at a lower cost, but also to enhance the quality of drug discovery processes. By improving human relevance and reducing reliance on animal models, we help our partners bring safer, more effective treatments to patients faster,” said Dr Clélia Bourgoint, CEO and co-founder of FluoSphera.
Hynek Sochor, Founder and Managing Partner at Soulmates Ventures, said, “FluoSphera stood out to us from the start for its exceptional founders and groundbreaking science. As the pharmaceutical industry transitions away from animal testing, the need for reliable human-relevant models is immense. FluoSphera is opening a multi-billion-dollar opportunity by giving drug developers the means to innovate faster, safer, and more ethically. It represents a completely new approach to developing the next generation of medicines.”
