Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge 2025: HeartSmart Takes Home the Prize!
Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge 2025: HeartSmart Announced as Winner
On World Day for Laboratory Animals — April 24, 2025 — the Proefdiervrij Event at CORPUS in Oegstgeest brought together innovators, scientists, and investors committed to accelerating animal-free research. One of the highlights of the day was the final of the fifth edition of the Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge, where four startups pitched their animal-free innovations in a competitive finale.
After a three-month programme focused on strengthening their business skills, HeartSmart was announced as the winner. Their innovation was selected by the jury to receive the €25,000 prize, supporting the further development and implementation of their animal-free testing platform.
The 2025 Finalists
- Nydus R&D – Developing innovative brain models to replace animal testing in neuroscience
- HeartSmart – Creating an advanced platform for testing heart medication without animal models
- 2ndB – Building a brain-on-a-chip system for more reliable studies of neurological diseases
- BioGrid – Making organ-on-chip technologies more accessible and affordable for broader use
This fifth edition marked a milestone for the Venture Challenge, celebrating five years of supporting startups that aim to make animal testing obsolete through technological innovation.
Event Highlights
Opening remarks were given by Anne Burgers, themed Unlocking Potential: The Only Way is Up.
Debby Weijers, director of Proefdiervrij, reflected on the importance of staying out of polarisation and instead initiating constructive conversations. She highlighted the need to challenge ourselves to connect across sectors:
“If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together.”
Wietske Veltman, Alderman of Leiden, shared the ambition to make Leiden a frontrunner in animal-free research, noting current developments like organ-on-chip technology:
“Once upon a time, it started here in Leiden.”
Melissa van Velthoven (3Rs Centre, Utrecht University) presented new tools for researchers:
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The Basement Membrane Extract (BME)-free database: https://bme-free.sites.uu.nl
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The FCS-free media platform: https://fcs-free.sites.uu.nl
Liisa Vilén (AstraZeneca) spoke on the use of microphysiological systems (MPS) including organoids, spheroids, and organ-on-chip systems for disease modelling and drug development. Examples included a multi-organ model linking liver and pancreas, as well as the integration of a digital twin for prediction and optimization. MPS were reported to be more reproducible than expected.
Math Kohnen closed the Venture Challenge session by emphasising the need to connect innovations with end-users:
“We need to bring the technology to the end-users.”
About the Challenge
The Proefdiervrij Venture Challenge is part of the broader Proefdiervrij initiative. It provides selected startups with a three-month programme to develop their business case, ending with a final pitch during the annual Proefdiervrij Event. The winning team receives €25,000 to support further development of their innovation.
Source: LS@W
