InSphero and PharmaNest Form Partnership to Advance Fibrosis Research

The collaboration aims to leverage 3D cell models and AI-powered digital pathology to improve prediction of drug efficacy for complex fibrotic conditions.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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InSphero AG, a leader in 3D cell-based assays and organ-on-chip systems, has signed a partnership with PharmaNest Inc, a Princeton-based digital pathology company. The collaboration will integrate InSphero's advanced 3D spheroid models with PharmaNest's high-resolution, single-fiber digital pathology and AI-assisted analysis to enable more precise phenotyping of fibrosis severity and remodeling. This combined approach aims to improve the predictive power of in-vitro models for evaluating antifibrotic therapies.

Why it matters

Fibrotic diseases, such as metabolic-dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (MASH), represent a major unmet clinical need due to the complexity of the underlying pathology and the difficulty in predicting drug efficacy. This partnership seeks to address these challenges by leveraging the strengths of 3D in-vitro models and AI-powered digital pathology to provide a more translatable platform for evaluating potential therapies.

The details

The partnership will integrate InSphero's liver spheroid models, which recapitulate excessive and self-sustaining fibrogenesis, with PharmaNest's single-fiber digital pathology platform. This will enable quantitative, phenotype-resolved assessment of fibrosis in the spheroids and direct alignment with human biopsy-derived fibrosis signatures. The combined approach aims to provide a comprehensive end-to-end solution for drug efficacy screening, from translational biomarkers to complex phenotypic analysis.

  • The partnership was announced on February 11, 2026.

The players

InSphero AG

A global market leader in 3D cell-based assays and organ-on-chip systems.

PharmaNest Inc

A Princeton, NJ-based digital pathology company.

Dr. Francisco Verdeguer

VP of Liver Disease at InSphero.

Mathieu Petitjean

Chief Engineering Officer at PharmaNest.

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What they’re saying

“This partnership agreement is the materialization of our previous collaborative efforts into a needed integration of AI applications for liver spheroids resulting in a benefit for the end-user.”

— Dr. Francisco Verdeguer, VP of Liver Disease (EINPresswire.com)

“Liver spheroids recapitulate excessive and self-sustaining fibrogenesis in a miniaturized, human-relevant system. Integration of the PharmaNest single-fiber digital pathology platform enables quantitative, phenotype-resolved assessment of fibrosis in spheroids and direct alignment with human biopsy–derived fibrosis signatures, providing a uniquely translatable measure of antifibrotic therapeutic efficacy.”

— Mathieu Petitjean, Chief Engineering Officer (EINPresswire.com)

What’s next

The partnership aims to provide pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic customers with a comprehensive end-to-end solution for drug efficacy screening, leveraging the combined capabilities of InSphero's 3D in-vitro models and PharmaNest's AI-powered digital pathology.

The takeaway

This collaboration represents a significant advancement in the field of translational fibrosis research, as it combines the strengths of 3D cell models and AI-assisted digital pathology to create a more predictive and human-relevant platform for evaluating potential therapies for complex fibrotic diseases.