Leading Scientists Propel Organoid Research Forward at OrganoAsia 2025

On October 10, 2025, ACROBiosystems, in collaboration with Leica Biosystems, Molecular Devices, and Leica Microsystems, hosted the hybrid conference “OrganoAsia 2025: The Frontier of Organoid Science” in Beijing. This event attracted over 500 experts and researchers primarily from China, Japan, and South Korea, who gathered to discuss advancements and future directions in organoid technology, particularly in fields such as precision medicine, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine.

Expert Insights and Innovations in Organoid Technology

The conference featured presentations from notable figures in the field, including Rosanna Zhang, Vice President of ACROBiosystems; Li Liang, Associate Professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech); Ki-Suk Kim from the Korean Institute of Toxicology; Na Jie of Tsinghua University; and Yoh-Ichi Tagawa from the Tokyo University of Science. Each expert shared their latest research breakthroughs across various applications of organoid technology.

Zhang highlighted innovative uses of organoids in drug screening and toxicity testing, emphasizing the growing global emphasis on alternatives to animal testing, guided by the 3R principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement. She noted that organoid technology closely mimics human physiological environments, significantly transforming drug screening and safety evaluation methods.

ACROBiosystems has introduced a suite of ready-to-use organoid products representing major organ types, including those for the heart, brain, liver, intestine, and lung. Zhang indicated the company’s plans to expand its organ model offerings to enhance high-throughput screening and mechanistic research for novel drug development.

Li Liang’s research team at SUSTech has established a biobank of patient-derived organoids that replicate organ microenvironments accurately. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they utilized a respiratory organoid platform to investigate differences in tissue tropism among SARS-CoV-2 variants, discovering that the Delta variant primarily caused pneumonia, while Omicron BA.2 predominantly infected the upper respiratory tract. They also identified a horse-derived polyclonal antibody effective against multiple variants through high-throughput screening.

Advancements in Drug Safety and Efficacy

In addition to their COVID-19 research, Liang’s group has developed a dual-channel “organ-on-a-chip” technology, which models gut–microbiome interactions with enhanced precision. This system overcomes limitations of traditional co-culture systems and has implications for studying viral encephalitis mechanisms and precision oncology drug screening using patient-derived tumor organoid (PDTO) models. The team is scaling up production to automate the creation of up to 100,000 organoids for transplantation, opening new avenues for regenerative medicine.

Professor Ki-Suk Kim‘s work focuses on using stem cell-based 3D organoid models for toxicology assessments. As drug development increasingly shifts towards non-animal testing, these models have demonstrated improved precision and efficiency. His team has engineered heart organoids that replicate human heart structure and function, using multi-ion channel detection integrated with microelectrode array (MEA) technology for assessing drug impacts on cardiac health.

Kim’s research also included neurodevelopmental toxicity studies, revealing that the antipsychotic drug haloperidol disrupts brain development by inhibiting the Notch1 signaling pathway. He emphasized that organoid technology is poised to become central to drug safety evaluations in the era of animal-free testing.

At Tsinghua University, Associate Professor Na Jie‘s team has utilized human pluripotent stem cells to create vascular organoids capable of better tissue repair. Their research includes a co-culture system integrating macrophages with heart organoids, significantly improving cardiomyocyte maturation and contractility. These advancements provide a relevant model for assessing cardiotoxicity risks associated with emerging therapeutics.

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Yoh-Ichi Tagawa‘s group developed a microfluidic gut-on-a-chip system to model Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). By co-culturing human intestinal epithelial cells with gut microbiota, they recreated key aspects of the intestinal microenvironment and confirmed the therapeutic effects of a TNF-α inhibitor. Tagawa noted that future efforts aim to combine multiple organ chips into complex human simulation systems for enhanced disease research and drug discovery.

During a roundtable discussion, participants focused on critical issues such as quality control, batch-to-batch consistency, and the need for standardization frameworks in organoid research. Experts highlighted the importance of data sharing, harmonizing operational protocols, and regulatory acceptance of organoid models in drug development.

Looking ahead, the consensus among attendees was clear: advancing organoid standardization and enhancing communication with regulators are essential for facilitating the use of organoid data in drug development and approval processes. Experts also acknowledged the challenge of generating mature organoids comparable to adult human tissues, which requires careful attention to developmental stages and technical standards.

ACROBiosystems Strengthens Collaborative Ties

The success of OrganoAsia 2025 has positioned ACROBiosystems to foster international scientific collaboration, establishing a robust network for organoid research, development, and manufacturing across the Asia-Pacific region. During the conference, multiple collaboration agreements were reached among participating institutions, reinforcing ACROBiosystems’ commitment to enhancing the role of organoid technology in drug discovery and precision medicine.

ACROBiosystems invites organizations interested in contributing to the growth of OrganoAsia as a leading international platform for exchange and partnership in organoid research. The company’s ongoing efforts aim to bridge the gap between research and industry, ultimately accelerating advancements in healthcare and biopharmaceuticals.

Founded in 2010 and publicly listed in 2021, ACROBiosystems Group operates globally, with offices, R&D centers, and production facilities in over ten cities across the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The company has established partnerships with leading pharmaceutical firms, including Pfizer, Novartis, and Johnson & Johnson, and is committed to driving innovation in drug development, particularly in targeted therapies and immunotherapies.