HeartBeat.bio and Cubase Bio Receive One Million Euros for 3D Analysis of Heart Diseases

Austria’s HeartBeat.bio and the Swedish genomics company Cubase Bio are launching a joint research collaboration to develop new technologies for cardiovascular drug discovery. The FACTS-3D project is receiving approximately one million euros in funding through the Eurostars program. The partners aim to combine heart organoids with three-dimensional spatial transcriptomics to study cardiac fibrosis and heart failure in greater detail.

National funding is provided by the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). This is supplemented by co-funding from the European Union through Horizon Europe.

Two Technologies for a Joint 3D Model

The collaboration centers on the respective technologies of the two companies. HeartBeat.bio is developing a drug discovery platform based on human heart organoids, known as “Cardioids.” Cubase Bio, on the other hand, is working on technologies for three-dimensional spatial transcriptomics.

The project “Fibrosis Analysis in Cardioids via Transcriptomic Spatial-mapping in 3D,” or FACTS-3D for short, aims to combine these two approaches. The goal is to develop a scalable method for investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of myocardial fibrosis within three-dimensional human heart models.

Why Traditional 2D Models Have Reached Their Limits

Despite significant advances in cardiovascular research, the development of new drugs for heart failure remains challenging. According to industry data, more than 64 million people worldwide live with heart failure.

One problem lies in the preclinical models. Animal models and two-dimensional cell cultures can only partially replicate human biology—and, in particular, the spatial interactions between different cell types. Even established methods of spatial transcriptomics often rely on thin tissue sections. With organoids, however, part of the three-dimensional context is lost as a result. HeartBeat.bio and Cubase Bio aim to preserve this context.

Gene activity within the entire organoid

To this end, Cubase Bio is developing a technology that allows for the investigation of gene expression within complete three-dimensional tissue structures.

The platform is designed to be scalable to 96- and 384-well plates. This is particularly relevant for drug discovery, as it will enable the parallel analysis of larger quantities of organoids and potential drug candidates.

The way cells organize themselves in three dimensions is crucial to understanding how a heart ventricle is structured, what happens during fibrosis, and how the heart undergoes remodeling.

Malte Kühnemund, CEO of Cubase

This would allow researchers not only to investigate which genes are active, but also where specific changes occur within the three-dimensional tissue.

Focus on Myocardial Fibrosis

FACTS-3D is focusing on myocardial fibrosis as its first specific clinical condition. This condition involves changes and scarring of the heart tissue, which can be associated with various forms of heart failure. By combining Cardioids with spatial transcriptomics, the companies aim to identify disease mechanisms more precisely and investigate how different treatments affect individual cell states and tissue regions.

In the long term, this could also lead to the discovery of new drug targets. For HeartBeat.bio, this expands the scope of application for its organoid platform. In the future, Cardioids will not only be used for phenotypic drug discovery but will also help identify and validate new disease mechanisms and potential targets.

Human Heart Models for Drug Discovery

HeartBeat.bio positions its Cardioid technology as an alternative to or complement for traditional preclinical models. The three-dimensional structures are designed to replicate relevant properties of human heart tissue in the laboratory.

CEO Michael Krebs sees the combination with Cubase Bio’s technology as an opportunity to study diseases in a more physiologically relevant human context while simultaneously preserving the spatial information within the tissue. The collaboration thus addresses a broader trend in drug discovery: preclinical models should represent human diseases as realistically as possible while remaining sufficiently standardizable and scalable for industrial development processes.

Eurostars Funds International Development

The collaboration is being funded with approximately one million euros from the Eurostars program. This funding instrument is aimed at innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and supports international research and development collaborations.

For FACTS-3D, national funding comes from Vinnova in Sweden and the FFG in Austria, supplemented by European funding from Horizon Europe. The funding is now intended to help develop a scalable approach to drug discovery by combining the two technologies.

From 3D Models to Industrial Screening

Scalability is likely to be the key factor here. While three-dimensional organoids and spatial transcriptomics promise more detailed insights than simple cell cultures, However, for industrial drug development, such methods must also be reproducible, fast, and applicable on a larger scale. This is precisely why the planned scaling to 96- and 384-well formats is relevant. If detailed spatial analyses can be combined with the necessary throughput, organoids could be integrated more fully into systematic screening and drug discovery processes.

For HeartBeat.bio and Cubase Bio, it remains to be seen whether a common workflow can be developed from these two technologically sophisticated platforms—one that not only yields additional scientific insights but also improves the speed and significance of industrial drug discovery.