A Billionaire-Backed Startup Wants to Grow ‘Organ Sacks’ to Replace Animal Testing
CommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyAs the Trump administration phases out the use of animal experimentation across the federal government, a biotech startup has a bold idea for an alternative to animal testing: nonsentient “organ sacks.”Bay Area-based R3 Bio has been quietly pitching the idea to investors and in industry publications as a way to replace lab animals without the ethical issues that come with living organisms. That’s because these structures would contain all of the typical organs—except a brain, rendering them unable to think or feel pain. The company’s long-term goal, cofounder Alice Gilman says, is to make human versions that could be used as a source of tissues and organs for people who need them.For Immortal Dragons, a…
