# Financing and Structuring the Organoid and Organ-on-Chip Sector in France

Adrien Bottacci, Guylène Nicolas, Aurélie Mahalatchimy

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Adrien Bottacci, Guylène Nicolas, Aurélie Mahalatchimy. Financing and Structuring the Organoid and Organ-on-Chip Sector in France. 7th Congress of the French Society for Stem Cell Research, Nov 2025, Lyon (ENS Lyon), France. halshs-05380140

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Submitted on 24 Nov 2025

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# Financing and Structuring the Organoid and Organ-on-Chip Sector in France

Adrien Bottacci¹, Guylène Nicolas², Aurélie Mahalatchimy³

¹PhD Student, UMR 7268 ADES, CDSA Health Law Centre - UMR 7318 DICE CERIC International, Comparative and European Laws, Aix-Marseille Université – CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France ; ²Professor, UMR 7268 ADES, CDSA Health Law Centre, Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence, France ; ³CNRS Researcher in law, UMR 7318 DICE, CERIC International, Comparative and European Laws, Aix-Marseille Université – CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France

## Introduction

* Organoids and Organs-On-Chip (O&OOCs) technologies are emerging tools that hold great potential to lastingly transform health research.

* **Strong international competition** in this field requires effective national innovation policies.

* In focus: **funding and structuring** of the emerging O&OOCs ecosystem.

* Overview of the **established and emerging actors** (their role and their competence) and the Sectorial Strategic Contract. Analysis of the interactions between actors.

## Main Actors of the Emergent French O&OOC Ecosystem

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /></figure>

Note that this representation is a model used for analytical purposes. In fact, some of these actors may accumulate several of these activities.

### Core Activities of Involved Actors

* **Regulating**: ministries, agencies (ANSM, ABM, AIS...)

* **Funding**: mainly public investment bank, public-private, private... national research agency...

* **Representing**: advocacy groups (learned societies...).

* **Structuring**: national research centres (CNRS, INSERM, INRIA, CEA, INRAE, l'Institut Pasteur, France universités, Udice), start-up consortia, competitiveness clusters, academic labs and platforms...

### Links Between Actors

* Orientations : descending (government oversight), ascending (e.g. advocacy), and horizontal exchanges (sharing of resources)

* Forms : contractual or informal and interpersonal links...

## The Sectorial Strategic Contract (2023-2026)

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /></figure>

### Sectorial Strategic Contract of Healthcare Industries and Technologies (CSF-ITS)

* Piloted by the Conseil National de l'Industrie (CNI)

* Aims to build an **integrated industrial sector** (cell cultures, microfluidics, sensors...)

* Based on **reciprocal commitments** between government and industry (w/o budget)

### O&OOCs in Project 14

* **Demand** raised by Biovalley France (bottom-up), officialised under the CSF-ITS by FEFIS and the Ministry of Research. Lead to the creation of F3OCI.

* **Purpose**: enter the **international race as a unified industrial sector**.

* **Objectives**:

* coordinate initiatives;

* develop standards and qualification processes;

* strengthen expertise and international visibility;

* ensure national health sovereignty.

* **Key actions** : cartography of actors and projects, white paper, training, TRL (Technology Readiness Level) assessments, coordinate with regulatory bodies

## Conclusion

Significant progress in structuring the O&OOC sector but major challenges remain.

### Challenges:

* **Industrial Translation**

* Technological maturity (validation and standardization of models, reproducibility, reliability)

* Industrial scale-up and market access

* **Knowledge sharing, Consensus Building and Stakeholder Integration**

* Standardization, regulatory validation and acceptance,

* Industry-academia partnerships, visibility of platforms

* Public acceptability, donors and patient associations engagement

The French O&OOC sector is in rapid transformation, with **strong potential to position itself internationally**, as long as **coordination and consensus** are achieved.

### Coordinating Public and Private Actors

* **Private actors**: ambiguous context of competition and cooperation.

* **Public actors**: who's competent to act? (i.e. standardised consent forms). Central authorities reluctant or slow to take positions, reliance on informal contacts.

### Quickly Evolving Ecosystem

* New actors and structures (e.g. F3OCI)

* **GDR organoïdes** to take the form of a **thematic network** (CNRS, INSERM).

* Risk of **redundant initiatives** when lack of knowledge or communication or coordination. Amplified by the current circular structure.

### Regulatory Scope

* Grouping organoids, organ-on-chip and organoid-on-chip technologies? **Grouping O&OOCs** with other **New Alternative Methods** (NAMs)? What are the specific issues, the commonalities?