News

Published: 03 July 2025

Doctors Against Animal Experiments at the MPS World Summit 2025 in Brussels

From 9th to 13th June 2025, Brussels hosted the MPS World Summit – the world's leading conference on so-called Microphysiological Systems (MPS), which are complex, human-based cell culture models like organ-on-a-chip systems and 3D organoids. Over 1,500 participants from 44 countries exchanged ideas on the latest developments in this pioneering field. Doctors Against Animal Experiments (DAAE) was represented by a dedicated delegation, aiming to strengthen animal-free research, initiate new collaborations, and raise a voice for modern, ethically sound science.

 DAAE wasn't just a participant; they actively shaped the programme: A highlight was the appearance of Dr. Tamara Zietek, Scientific Director, who once again chaired a session. The "MPS Developer/End-User Dialogue" focused on direct exchange between developers and users from industry and research. This well-attended event facilitated practical discussions on how MPS models, developed through collaborations, can successfully make the leap from the research laboratory into real-world application.

Dr. Dilyana Filipova, Scientific Officer at DAAE, presented her poster titled "Why do drugs keep failing?". Her systematic analysis of drug failure rates between 1963 and 2017 showed that despite animal testing, around 92% of all tested drugs fail in the clinical phase – they either don't work against the disease in humans and/or have side effects.

 DAAE's Scientific Officers, Julia Radzwill and Leyla Fox, specifically highlighted the NATworks database, which is currently being built by DAAE. The aim is to systematically record, categorise, and make publicly accessible companies engaged in animal-free research – for researchers, authorities, and policymakers.

With 124 industry sponsors, the MPS Summit also clearly demonstrated the strong economic support for the shift towards animal-free technologies. In particular, start-ups and medium-sized enterprises are driving the development of in-vitro methods, computer models, and organoids that not only replace animal testing but also offer scientifically superior results. The paradigm shift has long since begun – and DAAE sees close cooperation with innovative companies as key to actively shaping this change.

Overall, the MPS Summit impressively showed what's already possible today: from personalised organ models and multi-organ-chip systems to AI-powered prediction models that could potentially save millions of animals. And it was a clear sign: research is undergoing a fundamental transformation – towards human-relevant, ethically sound, and scientifically superior methods.

 
Dr. Tamara Zietek (right), ÄgT Managing Director for Science,
will lead the session "MPS Developer/End-User Dialogue."