The Biomolecular Screening Facility (BSF/PTCB) contributed to a research article reporting a simplified, scalable, and cost‑effective 3D spheroid model specifically designed for high‑throughput drug screening in cancer research.In close collaboration with the groups of Paul Dyson (LCOM, EPFL) and Francis Munier (Ophthalmology Department, Jules‑Gonin Eye Hospital, Fondation Asile des Aveugles), the Biomolecular Screening Facility contributed to a research article recently published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.The study introduces a simplified, scalable, and cost‑effective 3D spheroid model specifically designed for high‑throughput drug screening in cancer research. Using a scaffold‑free, agarose‑based microwell system, the method enables reproducible generation of uniform tumor spheroids with commercially available components and automation, significantly reducing complexity, costs, and variability compared with traditional 3D culture approaches.A streamlined protocol supports reliable assessment of drug responses across multiple tumor models, effectively bridging the gap between conventional 2D cultures and more complex organoid systems. Importantly, the model maintains biological relevance while remaining fully compatible with large‑scale screening, thereby enabling faster and more predictive preclinical testing.A key contribution of the Biomolecular Screening Facility was providing the infrastructure and expertise needed to develop, optimize, and automate this spheroid model. BSF’s automation tools - including dispensers, liquid handlers, automated fluorescence microscopes, and customized image‑analysis pipelines - were instrumental in standardizing spheroid formation, treatment, and data acquisition and analysis workflows. This integration ensures high reproducibility, scalability, and efficiency, positioning the model as a practical platform for accelerating drug discovery and repurposing efforts across diverse cancer types, including rare pediatric and difficult‑to‑model tumors such as retinoblastoma.ReferencesIrina L. Sinenko, Fabien Kuttler, Kseniya Glinkina, Gerardo Turcatti, Adeline Berger, Paul J. Dyson, Francis L. Munier. Spheroid screening: A simplified model driving targeted drug discovery and clinical advances. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, July 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2026.119580