Awards

At the Lung In Vitro Event for Innovative & Predictive Models (LIVe2026), we were awarded by PETA Science Consortium with a €20,000 grant for our excellence in advancing the field of non-animal inhalation testing.

"For twenty years, the reconstructed human airway tissues from Epithelix have been used by researchers worldwide to study inhalation toxicity, respiratory diseases, and drug efficacy. Epithelix has shown a deep commitment to non-animal science, including participating in international validation efforts and organizing training on non-animal inhalation testing.

We are grateful to have partnered with Epithelix for many years, and look forward to more collaborations accelerating animal-free inhalation testing."

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/live2026-share-7514328289285574657-Dm6S/

From left to right: Nuria Roldan, Song Huang, Andreas Stucki, Samuel Constant

Dr Gerrit Bredeck of the Spanish National Research Council received a €20,000 award redeemable for human cell-based models by Epithelix, as well as free registration and travel assistance to attend the 2026 Lung In Vitro Event for Innovative & Predictive Models and the pre-congress Hands-On Training on In Vitro Lung Models.

 “A major challenge in environmental health is understanding how inhaled pollutants affect not only the respiratory tract but also the cardiovascular system. This award will allow me to integrate physiologically relevant human respiratory tissues into my research and identify molecular signals linking air pollution to vascular dysfunction and ageing.” — Dr Gerrit Bredeck

Dr Helena Kandarova of the Centre of Experimental Medicine at the Slovak Academy of Sciences received a US$15,000 (~€15,237) award redeemable for human cell-based models by Epithelix.

“My team and I at CEM are very thankful to PETA Science Consortium International for choosing us as the award recipients. The Epithelix models will help us explore interesting drug candidates for their antimicrobial and antiviral properties. We will use reconstructed airway (MucilAir and SmallAir) and alveolar tissue models, employing the VITROCELL^® Cloud Alpha exposure system to investigate the molecules’ effects in vitro.”— Dr Helena Kandarova

PETA Science Consortium International and Epithelix invite you to apply to win three-dimensional reconstructed human respiratory tissues from Epithelix. Epithelix’s human cell–based tissue models mimic different regions of the respiratory tract and can be used for testing cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical device extracts, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and household products.

The award winner will be selected based on their proposal’s scientific merit and potential to replace the use of animals in inhalation testing, and will receive a $15,000 (~€15,237) award redeemable for Epithelix tissues (MucilAir™, SmallAir™, or AlveolAir™) and/or primary human alveolar macrophages (at standard commercial prices). Researchers from any sector (e.g. industry, academia, and government) are encouraged to apply, and this opportunity is open to applicants worldwide.

More information: https://www.thepsci.eu/epithelix_award/

December 2020

Epithelix initiated a fundraising to encourage worldwide researchers to use in vitro human tissues as an alternative to animal testing.

The award winners were selected based on their proposal’s scientific relevance to replace animal testing, and received a 5'000 € award redeemable for MucilAir™ or SmallAir™ tissues (at standard commercial prices). Researchers from any sector (e.g., industry, academia, government) were encouraged to apply, and this opportunity was open to applicants worldwide.

More information on the Alt-Air Project website

16th January 2019

Presented by the PETA International Science Consortium and Epithelix

In December 2018, the PETA International Science Consortium Ltd. and Epithelix Sàrl awarded free three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructed human respiratory tissue models manufactured by Epithelix to researchers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The models, MucilAir™ and SmallAir™, mimic different regions of the respiratory tract and can be used to test cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, pesticides, household products, cigarette smoke, and viruses.

After receiving proposals from all around the world, three researchers were chosen based on their proposals’ scientific merit and potential to use the tissues to replace animals in inhalation testing:

First Place ($5,000 award)

Kristine Nishida, from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, will expose the 3-D tissues to cigarette smoke to elucidate the mechanism underlying the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She will also study tissues from human donors with COPD to gain a deeper understanding of the disease pathogenesis and how to reverse its effects.

Second Place ($2,500 award each)

Dr Chang Guo, Public Health England, will use the tissues for toxicity testing of carbon nanotubes.

Dr Richard Gminski, University of Freiburg, will use the tissues to evaluate the efficacy of drugs on Klebsiella pneumoniae, an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that poses a health threat to hospital patients worldwide.

16th November 2016

Epithelix won the prize Jaubert 2016 as a reward for its outstanding work oriented towards the well-being of humanity.

31th December 2015

Epithelix won the Initiative Genevois 2015 prize awarding its success and its potential.

20th March 2014

Epithelix won the ECOBAT 2014 prize awarding the implementation of an in vitro cellular assay for toxicity assessment of construction materials based on human 3D airway epithelium model.

5th December 2010

Epithelix won the trophy for innovation awarded by the Swiss and French Commercial and Industrial Chamber (CFSCI). Epithelix was rewarded for its unique technology, its rapid development and its management team.

23rd October 2010

Epithelix won Geneva young industry price 2010 rewarding the high degree of innovation of its products, its unique technology and its rapid development.

December 2009

The Doerenkamp-Zbinden foundation for alternative in biomedecine awarded a prize for the poster presented by Epithelix at the 7th World Congress on alternatives to animal uses in life science.

19th November 2009

Epithelix won the Michel Baettig 2009 Prize.

Epithelix was awarded for its team spirit, its success and its potential.

2nd April 2009

Epithelix won the Red Herring Europe 2009 prize: Epithelix was selected amongst the Top 100 Most Promising Tech Companies.

Red Herring annouced that Epithelix Sàrl was among the Winners of the Red Herring 100 Europe, an award given to the top 100 private technology companies based in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region each year.

"During a difficult year, Red Herring still received an impressive list of submissions from companies across the EMEA region, clearly demonstrating Europe's role as a major center of innovation in the global technology sector," said Red Herring Managing Director, Farley Duvall. *The exceptional accomplishments of European technology startups and entrepreneurs are a testament to the rapid advancements being made in building the European innovation ecosystem."

Red Herring's lists of top private companies are an important part of the publications' tradition of identifying new and innovative technology companies and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google, eBay and Skype were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors and touted as leaders that would change the way we live and work. Red Herring's editorial staff rigorously evaluated several hundred private companies through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality management, strategy execution, and dedication to research and development.

About Red Herring

Red Herring is a global media company which unites the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine, an online daily technology news service, technology newsletters and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy.

18th June 2008

Epithelix was one of the winners of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation prize 2008.

April 2008

Epithelix was awarded the Venture Leader 2008 prize from VentureLab. This prize confirmed the readiness for suistainable growth.

June 2007

Epithelix was one of the short listed nominees 2007. The W.A. de Vigier Foundation recognized the potential of Epithelix.

June 2007

Epithelix received the first prize from the Dr. René Liechti Foundation.

April 2007

Epithelix was awarded the CTI Start-Up Label. The Label confirmed the readiness for sustainable growth.

November 2006

Epithelix was one of the Short-listed Nominee for the 2006 Word Technology Award for Health and Medicine.

The World Technology Network (WTN) is a global meeting ground, a virtual think tank, and an elite club whose members are all focused on the business and science of bringing important emerging technologies of all types (from biotech to new materials, from IT to new energy sources) into reality. The WTN's membership is composed of approximately 1000 members from more than 60 countries, judged by their peers to be the most innovative figures in the technology world.

June 2006

Epithelix received the award (4th position) of Venture business plan 2006 organized by ETH Zurich and McKinsey & Company.

• Venture 2006
• List of the 5 principal Winners of the prize Venture 2006
• Winners and finalists of the prize Venture 2006

March 2006

Epithelix was selected among the finalists of the "Eclosion" award for innovation.

February 2006

Epithelix was selected among the finalists of the award Venture idea 2006 organized by ETH Zurich and McKinsey & Company.

November 2005

Award 2005 of the foundation E. Naef for in vitro research.