GoKawiilIntero Biosystems sells lab-grown human intestinal organoids for drug testing
Denver startup Intero Biosystems, spun out of the University of Michigan, has launched GastroScreen, a human intestinal organoid model made of multiple cell and tissue types found in the gut. The company ships roughly 100 of the millimeter-sized organoids at a time to pharmaceutical, biotech, food, and chemical companies, which use them to test drugs and compounds in either healthy or disease-induced states. Intero also sells supporting supplies like nutrient mixes and reagents, and runs custom experiments and lab studies for clients.
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The product reflects a broader push by researchers and drug companies to find alternatives that better mimic human biology, since many compounds that succeed in animal trials still fail in humans. By offering tissue with multiple cell types rather than simplified flat cell layers, Intero's co-founders argue their model could provide more human-relevant predictions earlier in drug development, potentially reducing costly late-stage failures. Wider adoption of such organoid models could gradually reshape preclinical testing practices across pharma, biotech, food, and chemical industries, though it remains to be seen how regulators and large drugmakers will weigh their reliability against established animal studies.
- Intero Biosystems makes GastroScreen, lab-grown human intestinal organoids for drug and chemical testing.
- The organoids combine multiple cell and tissue types to better mimic human gut biology than simpler models.
- The company also sells lab supplies and runs custom testing studies for pharma, biotech, food, and chemical clients.
Source: techcrunch.com — Kate Park, 2026-10-14
Published there as: “Intero Biosystems wants drugmakers to test on mini human intestines, not animals”
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