Curi Bio and Battelle Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate the Adoption of New Approach Methods in Neuromuscular Pharmacology

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6:27 PM on Friday, March 20

The Associated Press

SEATTLE & COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 20, 2026--

Curi Bio, a world leader in human-relevant 3D tissue technology, and Battelle, the world’s largest independent nonprofit research and development organization, today announced a strategic partnership to commercialize next-generation Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ) assay technology. This collaboration combines Curi Bio’s innovative microphysiological systems with Battelle’s extensive GLP-ready infrastructure to offer a transformative, human-relevant alternative to traditional pharmacology methodologies.

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Curi Bio and Battelle Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate the Adoption of NAMs in Neuromuscular Pharmacology

Advancing the 3Rs: At the core of this partnership is a commitment to the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement). By providing functional, 3D human-tissue models that replicate complex neuromuscular physiology, the Curi Bio-Battelle partnership enables researchers to replace long-standing animal-based bioassays with highly reproducible new approach methods.

Innovation Meets Infrastructure: The partnership leverages Curi Bio’s proven Mantarray™ ecosystem which provides real-time functional readouts of human heart, muscle, and neuromuscular junction contractility. By offering a ready-to-use commercial solution for BoNT potency, Curi Bio enables customers to generate data with their specific drug products, accelerating the adoption of human-relevant, cell-based NMJ assays. Battelle serves as the scale and integration partner, offering the regulatory expertise and specialized laboratory facilities necessary to implement these technologies across global drug substance and medical countermeasure (MCM) development pipelines.

“We are excited to partner with Battelle to scale our technology for applications with significant commercial and governmental utility,” said Elliot Fisher, Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder of Curi Bio. “With the FDA’s new Non-Animal Models (NAMs) guidance and the NIH’s $150M commitment to human-relevant alternatives, the regulatory landscape is clearly shifting toward the scalable platforms we’ve built. This partnership is a high priority as we set the new gold standard for potency testing with our human-relevant NMJ assay and position Curi Bio at the forefront of animal-free drug development.”

“The partnership shows how technology innovators and technology integrators can combine strengths to accelerate real-world adoption of new approach methods,” said Bob Moyer, Research Leader at Battelle. “Battelle brings R&D scale, regulatory expertise, and world-class laboratory capabilities, while Curi Bio contributes cutting-edge technology and transformative human relevant models—together enabling innovation to translate into practical impact.”

About Curi Bio: Curi Bio provides a suite of human-relevant 3D tissue models and instrumentation to accelerate drug discovery and development. By integrating human iPSCs, tissue engineering, and automated data analysis, Curi Bio helps researchers build more predictive models of human disease. For more information, visit www.curibio.com or contact Marketing Director Jacqueline De Rose at [email protected].

About Battelle: Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. For more information, visit www.battelle.org or contact Media Relations Director Katy Delaney at (614) 424-7208 or at [email protected].

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CONTACT: Curi Bio

Jacqueline De Rose

Marketing Director

[email protected]

www.curibio.comBattelle

Katy Delaney

Media Relations Director

(614) 424-7208

[email protected]

www.battelle.org

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