3Rs Training Webinar: NATworks in Practice: Companies Advancing Human-Relevant Science

Описание: Human-relevant, non-animal approaches are rapidly gaining importance across biomedical research, safety testing, and innovation—yet identifying suitable companies, technologies, and collaboration partners can still be challenging.

CAAT’s first 3Rs Training Webinar of the new year, hosted by Dr. Kathrin Herrmann, Director of Education at CAAT, introduced NATworks, an industry guide to Non-Animal Technologies. The NATWorks platform offers a compact, curated overview of companies, showcasing their products, services, and expertise to support human-relevant research questions. It is designed to help users quickly identify suitable partners for non-animal, human-based approaches across biomedical research, safety testing, and innovation.

Human-based technologies—often referred to as Non-Animal Technologies (NATs), New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), or alternative methods—are becoming increasingly relevant due to their immense potential to improve human safety, scientific translatability, and medical progress.

Whether you are looking to implement new procedures, advance research and development, build collaborations, or explore career opportunities, NATworks helps you find relevant companies efficiently by selecting just a few targeted search criteria—regional or global.

The webinar began with a short introduction to what NATworks is and why it was created, followed by company spotlights, a panel discussion, and live Q&A with all speakers.

Speakers & participating organizations:

Julia Radzwill – Biologist and Scientific Officer, Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE); Project Coordinator, NATWorks
Founded in 1979, DAAE advocates for animal-free research based on modern methods such as human cell cultures and organ-on-chip systems. Julia will introduce NATWorks and its purpose.

Tobias Krebs – Founder & Managing Director, VITROCELL Systems GmbH
VITROCELL develops advanced in vitro exposure systems for inhalation, eye, and skin research, including air–liquid interface exposure, and serves research institutes, CROs, regulators, and industry worldwide.

Dr. Christian Maass – Principal Scientist, MPSlabs (ESQlabs)
MPSlabs develops digital twin platforms and modeling workflows that translate organ-on-chip and microphysiological system data into predictive, human-relevant insights, including ADME and PBPK-based decision support.

Dr. Bettina Lickiss – Co-Founder; Business Development & Scientific Communications Manager, innoVitro GmbH
innoVitro provides human-based cardiac risk screening services for drug discovery, safety pharmacology, toxicology, and efficacy testing. Screening encompasses a broad range of endpoints, from electrophysiology and contractility to structural readouts.

Dr. Ilka Maschmeyer – Vice President Business Development, TissUse GmbH
TissUse pioneers multi-organ-chip technology with the HUMIMIC® platform, enabling interconnected human organ models under dynamic flow conditions for drug development, toxicity testing, and ADME(T) studies.

Prof. Paul Adlard, PhD – Chief Scientific Officer, Tessara Therapeutics Pty Ltd Tessara Therapeutics develops human iPSC-derived 3D brain models for predictive, non-animal CNS drug discovery. Its RealBrain® platform enables scalable safety and disease-relevant assays within standard preclinical workflows.