We create human-mimicking artificial tumors for high-throughput drug screening, enabling more accurate identification of promising drugs during the preclinical stage.
VivoSphere’s mission is to revolutionize therapeutic development by leveraging cutting-edge tissue engineering technology to advance safer, more effective treatments. Founded in June 2022, VivoSphere LLC is located in the New Venture Accelerator at Auburn University, Alabama. The company originated as a spin-off from the Lipke Lab at Auburn University, based on the patented VivoSphere technology co-invented by Drs. Tian and Lipke. Currently, VivoSphere employs one full-time and one part-time staff member, with plans to expand the team in 2025.
In drug discovery and development, researchers must screen numerous compounds to assess drug efficacy and eliminate ineffective or toxic candidates. However, over 90% of drug candidates fail during development, largely due to poor clinical translation. VivoSphere addresses this critical challenge by providing pharmaceutical companies with a powerful tool to identify inefficacious drugs earlier, saving substantial time and resources.
Our engineered microspheroidal tissues, known as VivoSpheres, closely mimic human biology and drug responses. Additionally, our patented VivoSphere production technologies enable scalable, high-throughput production unmatched in the industry, allowing researchers to screen large numbers of compounds, obtain high-quality data, and make confident decisions. By enabling earlier identification of non-viable drug candidates, VivoSphere expedites the drug development process and reduces excessive expenses during clinical trials.
This approach increases R&D returns for pharmaceutical companies and helps lower patient healthcare costs.
Dr. Yuan Tian, Ph.D. – Co-founder, Chief Technology Officer:
Dr. Tian has 10 years of experience developing 3D tissue-engineered models for drug discovery, cell manufacturing, and injectable cell delivery. He co-invented the VivoSphere technology during his graduate research at Auburn University under Dr. Elizabeth Lipke. Dr. Tian also led customer discovery as an Entrepreneur Lead in NSF I-Corps programs. In 2022, he co-founded VivoSphere LLC to commercialize the technology.
Dr. Elizabeth Lipke, Ph.D. – Co-founder, Chief Science Officer:
Dr. Lipke has 23+ years of experience in 3D engineered tissues for disease modeling and tissue regeneration. A co-inventor of the VivoSphere technology, she holds 5 patents and 2 pending and completed postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Lipke co-founded VivoSphere LLC with Dr. Tian.
A strong advisory team has been formed to provide guidance on technology translation and business development.
Service for Market Entry and Initial Revenue:
Based on our customer discovery findings, we have identified large pharmaceutical companies as early adopters and early majority users due to their motivation and capacity to embrace new drug discovery approaches. Therefore, we will seek collaborations with pharmaceutical teams and provide contract services to generate initial revenue and build market traction. We are partnering with Southern Research Institute, a contract research organization with extensive experience in high-throughput drug discovery, for beta testing and market entry.
Product (VivoSphere Kit) to Scale the Business:
We will also offer pre-plated, assay-ready VivoSphere kits through direct sales to clients requiring general disease models. Additionally, we will seek distribution partners to expand our reach to a broader market. We have identified potential partners both in Asia and Europe. Both services and products will be priced and tailored at varying levels of complexity to accommodate a wide range of client needs.
Instrument to Meet Additional Needs:
For customers with unique cell sources they cannot share, in-house VivoSphere production will be essential. To address this need, we plan to develop the VivoSphere production instrument following the launch of the assay-ready VivoSphere kit. This instrument will generate revenue through direct sales and consumables or by enabling onsite production with the support of our field application scientists. We have identified an engineering company as a potential partner for the development and manufacturing of this instrument.
Our business model comprises three primary revenue streams: contract services, sales of assay-ready VivoSphere kits, and sales of VivoSphere production instruments.
Contract Services:
We will collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide disease-specific VivoSpheres, focusing on customizable solutions. Long-term Master Collaboration Agreements with short-term Project Agreements will secure sustained revenue. Pricing will be personalized based on project duration and complexity.
Selling Kits:
We will offer pre-plated assay-ready VivoSphere kits containing commonly used cell lines. These ready-to-use 3D models require minimal training, reducing adoption barriers while generating recurring revenue through consumable sales. Kits will be available in three pricing tiers based on complexity and distributed through direct sales and licensing partnerships.
Selling Instruments:
To address customers requiring in-house production due to unique cell sources, we will develop VivoSphere production instruments. Revenue will be generated through sales of the instruments, consumables, and onsite production services supported by our field application scientists.
This diversified approach ensures steady revenue growth and meets the needs of a broad customer base, from early-stage researchers to pharmaceutical leaders.
We are seeking $2 million in funding to support the launch of our first product, the Assay-ready VivoSphere Kit, targeted for Q1 2026. This investment will be allocated strategically to ensure the success of our product and company growth. Key areas of funding use include:
- R&D and Validation ($620,000): Supporting lab equipment, materials, and animal studies for rigorous product testing and validation to ensure high-quality performance.
- Manufacturing Establishment ($450,000): Building production capabilities for scalable, cost-effective VivoSphere kit manufacturing.
- Team Building and Operational Support ($480,000): Expanding our team to strengthen R&D, business development, and customer support functions.
- IP Protection ($150,000): Securing and expanding our patent portfolio to maintain competitive advantages.
- Business Development and Marketing ($150,000): Developing targeted marketing strategies to engage early adopters in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.
- Operations and Infrastructure ($130,000): Supporting office and lab space rental, IT support, and other general operation costs.
- Contingency Fund ($100,000): Reserved for unplanned R&D and operational costs.
This funding will accelerate our timeline, strengthen market entry, and ensure our ability to meet demand with a scalable and competitive product offering.
IP Protection:
- Four patents have been issued, and two are pending to cover our primary product.
- We are currently negotiating an exclusive license agreement with Auburn University.
Regulatory Strategy:
- No regulatory approval is required for VivoSpheres to be used as tools in preclinical drug discovery.
Competitive Advantages:
There are four major types of competitors:
- Spheroid-forming microplates (e.g., Corning Ultra-Low-Attachment (ULA) microplate) and self-aggregated spheroids (e.g., InSphero).
- Matrigel-based organoids (e.g., HUB Organoid).
- More complex organ-on-a-chip technologies (e.g., Emulate).
- Other cell-laden hydrogel microspheres (e.g., Xilis, Cyprio).
These technologies either lack control over the extracellular microenvironment or suffer from low throughput and high model heterogeneity. In contrast, our VivoSphere technology employs tunable hydrogels for precise control of the microenvironment and a microfluidic encapsulation platform for scalable production. This results in lower costs and higher consistency, critical for drug screening.
Key Milestones:
- 2019–2020: Initial prototype development funded by the Auburn University LAUNCH Innovation Grant.
- 2021–2023: Customer discovery and business model development through the NSF I-Corps program.
- 2022–2024: Early-stage commercial prototype development supported by the NSF PFI grant.
- 2024–2025: Head-to-head comparison with competing technologies, initial HTS capacity establishment, and MVP testing with our collaborator Southern Research, supported by an ongoing NIH SBIR grant.
- 2025–2026: Disease-specific VivoSphere development and validation for the first product launch in 2026. Seeking additional funding.
- 2026–2027: Manufacturing capacity establishment. Seeking additional funding.
Startup Awards:
- Alabama Launchpad Competition, Concept Stage: $25,000 (2023-2024)
- Tian & Lipke
- NSF I-Corps: $50,000 (2021-2022)
- Entrepreneur Lead: Tian
- Technical Lead/PI: Lipke
- Industrial Mentor: Dobbs
- LAUNCH Innovation Grant Program, Auburn Office of Innovation Advancement and Commercialization: $50,000 (2019-2020)
- PI: Lipke
Small Business Grants (non-dilutive):
- NIH SBIR Phase I: $350,000 (2024-2025)
- PI: Tian
- Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant Program: $100,000 (2024-2025)
- PI: Tian
