Intero Biosystems offers lab-grown gut tissue for drug testing
Intero Biosystems is developing human intestinal organoids, lab-grown tissue that mimics the gut, as an alternative or supplement to animal testing for drugmakers. Its GastroScreen product contains multiple cell and tissue types from the human intestine, and customers can use it to test drug safety and disease responses. The Denver-based startup, spun out of the University of Michigan, has raised a $2.3 million pre-seed round and reported more than $400,000 in revenue over the past year.
Intero Biosystems, based in Denver, emerged from University of Michigan research and was founded in 2024. It employs seven people and has fewer than ten customers. Its GastroScreen product consists of roughly millimeter-wide lab-grown gut tissue pieces, shipped about 100 per tube, and can model healthy or disease-like gut tissue for compound testing.
The company also provides growth media, experimental chemicals, and contract study services, including custom design, lab work, and data delivery. It raised $2.3 million pre-seed and reported over $400,000 revenue across Q4 last year through Q3 this year. Regulatory interest in non-animal methods has grown.
If such models prove reliable, they may reduce some animal testing and give drugmakers earlier warnings about gut toxicity, potentially affecting patients, researchers, and animals. Patients could benefit from safer candidates, though organoids cannot yet replace whole-body studies. Startups and regulators may face pressure to validate these tools. Food and chemical firms might also use them. This remains uncertain and depends on evidence, adoption, and oversight.