Bringing research infrastructures together for in vitro models and the 3Rs
BBMRI.at partner University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni) hosted the annual meeting of the EU-funded project PRIM-TECH3R on 29–30 October 2026. In a session on cross-RI activities, BBMRI.at National Node Director Helmuth Haslacher introduced BBMRI.at and outlined opportunities for collaboration between research infrastructures in the field of preclinical in vitro models.
PRIM-TECH3R: in vitro models to replace, reduce and refine animal studies
The PRIM-TECH3R Annual Project Meeting 2026 took place on 29 and 30 October at BBMRI.at partner Vetmeduni Vienna. Coordinated by INFRAFRONTIER and funded by Horizon Europe, the project brings together 18 institutions from 10 countries, including the BBMRI-ERIC headquarters. It develops mouse and human complex in vitro models (CIVMs) that support the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement (3Rs) of mouse models in preclinical studies.
Two days of exchange
Partners came together to review progress, share results and plan the next steps. The first day focused on the in vitro models and work packages of the project. The second day covered the online PRIM-TECH3R in vitro resource, industry engagement and training, as well as cooperation with other research infrastructures. In the cross-RI session, Austrian BioImaging and Euro-BioImaging presented their imaging services for organoids and in vitro models, followed by BBMRI.at.
Getting to know each other as infrastructure nodes
As BBMRI.at itself is not a project partner, the session offered a first opportunity to get to know each other as infrastructure nodes, learn about each other’s services and needs, and explore synergies – for example for joint EU proposals. Concrete questions, such as whether stored biosamples can be used to generate human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models, are to follow from this exchange. With BBMRI.at, Austrian BioImaging and INFRAFRONTIER partner Vetmeduni, three research infrastructures are represented in Vienna alone – a good basis for close cooperation.
BBMRI.at: opportunities for cross-RI collaboration
In his talk “BBMRI.at – the Austrian Node of BBMRI-ERIC: Opportunities for Cross-RI Collaboration”, prepared with BBMRI.at Executive Manager Cornelia Stumptner, Helmuth Haslacher first introduced BBMRI-ERIC and BBMRI.at: the BBMRI.at partner biobanks with more than 31 million human and veterinary samples, BBMRI.at’s role in the BBMRI-ERIC Work Programme and BBMRI.at’s international projects. He also presented the BBMRI-ERIC Directory and Locator, which help researchers find samples and data across Europe.
One Health and non-human collections were a key topic: the VetBiobank at Vetmeduni has been part of BBMRI.at from the start, and BBMRI.at co-leads the BBMRI-ERIC strategic objective on connecting with non-human collections. Within PRIM-TECH3R, BBMRI-ERIC is developing a MIABIS extension to make such collections and model resources findable in the Directory and Locator.
Helmuth Haslacher also showed how living biobanks in the BBMRI.at network – such as patient-derived organoids at MedUni Wien Biobank and the YouCell cell bank at Med Uni Graz – turn patient material into characterised, shareable in vitro models. He discussed what is already feasible with stored biosamples and which hurdles remain, from sample viability to consent, data protection, ownership and regulation. Finally, he outlined six fields for cross-RI collaboration: discovery and data, quality and standards, sample and data access, ELSI, training, and joint proposals.
Continuing the exchange
The talk closed with questions for discussion, for example whether PRIM-TECH3R resources should become discoverable through BBMRI-ERIC tools and which upcoming calls could carry a joint proposal. BBMRI.at looks forward to continuing the exchange.
