The road to animal-free drug discovery – an interview with Lukas Gaats of mo:re 

mo:re, a Hamburg-based life science startup, is setting new standards in animal-free drug discovery with its innovative laboratory platform that enables the automated planning, cultivation and analysis of complex 3D cell culture models.

With the recently closed €2.3 million seed financing round led by HTGF, mo:re aims to establish organoids as a standard laboratory technique and thus fundamentally change the research and development of new drugs. We sat down with Lukas Gaats, co-founder and CEO of mo:re, to find out how the idea for mo:re came about, what challenges the team has already overcome and what is next on the agenda. 

Lukas, how did you come up with the idea for mo:re? 

The idea came up during my research stay at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In Professor Hutmacher’s lab, we were working on standardising bioprinting processes, and while talking to various researchers, I realised that the platform had commercial potential. I met my co-founder David during my MBA studies, where we not only learned the business tools but also discovered the joy of starting a company. We wanted that experience and when such a promising technology emerged from my time as a medical engineer, it was the perfect opportunity.  

A solution needs to be validated before it can be brought to market. How did you do this?  

We validated the technology scientifically in the lab and used classic prototyping methods to develop the robot. The most important question we ask when making a design or scientific decision is what the specific result will be and how it will help us achieve our goals. This allowed us to validate the first prototypes and applications in a very focused way, even with modest resources at the beginning. 

You have just completed a seed funding round – what are your next steps? 

We are 100% focused on commercialisation now that we have launched our product in January. It is important to remember that we offer hardware, software and wetware (i.e. the organoids). We can now invest significant resources in the latter area to convince more customers of the merits of our solution. 

 
Every startup faces hurdles. What has been your biggest challenge so far – and how did you overcome it? 

My biggest challenge has been mental: the responsibility, for example for the well-being of our employees, is enormous and it is always important to lead with optimism. I underestimated the mental strain at the beginning. As a management team, we regularly make sure that we stay strong in difficult moments and that no one feels left alone. As we grow, it is nice and reassuring to see that mo:re GmbH is gradually becoming something bigger than the contributions of individuals. 

What lessons have you learned on your journey so far that you would like to share with other founders? 

Never lose perspective! A startup – with all its ups and downs – is an incredible opportunity to grow. Be grateful for that, but also aware of the intensity. Try to get away from it all through hobbies, travel or spending time with friends and family, even if they’re very interested in what’s going on at the startup. This is how I have managed to get through the last two years with passion and joy.  

Thank you, Lukas, for the interesting insights!