Bac3Gel and the EIC Accelerator: Growing Microbes in Fake Mucus
Bac3Gel, based in Porto Salvo near Lisbon, makes three-dimensional gels that mimic human mucus, with built-in gradients of oxygen, nutrients and firmness, so that laboratories can grow the complex communities of microbes that live in the gut and other mucous membranes. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's January 2023 cut-off and received an EU grant of €1.50 million for a €2.14 million project, "New generation of substrates to harness the full power of microorganisms", that ran from July 2023 to October 2025, according to CORDIS. The main objective was to take the technology "from a laboratory-validated concept into market-ready products".
The project is closed. Its final report states that the platform, sold as Gut3Gel, sustained "up to approximately 90% of bacterial species present in the original inocula", was validated in several industrial testbeds, reached "market penetration", and was developed into ready-to-use formats that stay sterile and functional for up to nine months, according to the CORDIS reporting page. The report withholds customer details to preserve "confidentiality of partner-specific data".
Company file
- Legal entity
- Bac3Gel, Lda., NIF 516010085, Porto Salvo
- CEO
- Sebastião van Uden
- CTO
- Daniela Pacheco
- Products
- Gut3Gel, Lung3Gel, Vag3Gel, Gastro3Gel, Bac3Gel, bead formats
- Other EU projects
- SurfEx (participant); TOP-GUT (associated partner)
- Latest register event
- Capital increase, February 2026
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where Bac3Gel Stands Now
The company's website lists gels for the gut, lungs, stomach and vagina, a general bacterial gel and bead-based "growth boosters", and says it is also funded by Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan. A 2026 study in the journal MicrobiologyOpen, involving Bac3Gel researchers, described its Universal-Bac3Gel as supporting the growth and biofilm formation of the ESKAPE group of pathogens. Its company register entry records a capital increase in February 2026, according to Racius; the financial accounts sit behind a paywall.
The record
From lab gel to a product line for microbiome research
Bac3Gel turned its mucus-mimicking gel into a range of products during the EIC project and increased its capital in February 2026.
- Jan 2023EIC Accelerator cut-offBac3Gelgrant first
- Jul 2023Project starts€1.50M EU grant
- Oct 2025Project endsGut3Gel on the market; 9-month shelf life
- Feb 2026Capital increaseRecorded in company register
- 2026Universal-Bac3Gel paperMicrobiologyOpen
CORDIS, Bac3Gel, Racius and MicrobiologyOpen.
"By providing a ready-to-use in vitro solution, the project supports the adoption of non-animal testing methodologies, improves the predictive value of microbiome research."
Bac3Gel, final report to the EICThe Technology: Recreating the Body's Linings
Many microbes that live in mucus cannot be grown in standard lab dishes, which offer uniform conditions. Bac3Gel's gels reproduce the gradients found in the body so that bacteria needing oxygen and those that cannot tolerate it can grow side by side. The company says its gels responded to dietary fibres and other compounds in ways consistent with clinical studies, positioning them as a partial alternative to animal testing.
The claims
Results reported for the Gut3Gel platform
The company reports that its gel sustained up to about 90% of the bacterial species in the original sample and stays sterile and functional for up to nine months.
Bac3Gel, final report to the EIC (CORDIS).
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
The award promised market-ready products from a lab concept. The final report and the company's product range show that happened. What cannot be checked is how widely the products are used: the report cites industrial validation and customer feedback but names no customers and gives no sales.
- Market-ready productDeliveredGut3Gel on sale.
- Industrial validationDeliveredSeveral testbeds per final report, unnamed.
- Scalable formatsDeliveredBeads, 9-month shelf life.
- Market tractionUnverifiedNo sales disclosed.
The Money
The EU paid 70% of the EIC project. Bac3Gel also receives EU money as a participant in the SurfEx project, €243,403 according to CORDIS, and is an associated partner in TOP-GUT. The size of its February 2026 capital increase and its revenue could not be checked from free sources.
The EU money
EU funding to Bac3Gel by project
Besides the EIC grant, Bac3Gel is a participant in the Horizon Europe SurfEx project.
CORDIS participant data. Values in € thousands.
The project budget
Who paid for the €2.14M project
The EU covered 70% of the Bac3Gel project's cost.
CORDIS, project 190135075. Values in € millions.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Who the industrial customers are, how much Bac3Gel sells, and who invested in the 2026 capital increase are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The final report ties Bac3Gel's work to European priorities on New Approach Methodologies and reducing animal experiments. Better lab models of the human microbiome could speed up research on food, supplements and drugs. A small Portuguese company has built one, with EU support at several stages.
What the award promised
Market-ready mucus-mimicking substrates for microbiome research and industry.
What the record shows
A product range on sale and a new scientific paper, with sales and customers kept confidential.
The Verdict
Delivered, quietly
By its own final report, Bac3Gel did what it promised the EIC. Whether it has found a sizeable market is something only its unpublished figures could show.
Bac3Gel and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
Industry
HealthLife science tools
- Focus
- Research models
- Technologies
- Hydrogels
- Biomaterials
- Keywords
- Microbiome research
- Mucus models
- Animal testing alternatives
- Biofilms