MAT Research develops the Monocyte Activation Test and the AutoMATR robot, a rabbit-free in-vitro human-based alternative to the Rabbit Pyrogen Test for detecting pyrogens in drugs and devices.
MAT Research is a biotechnology company founded in 2016 and based in Leiden, the Netherlands. It develops and commercialises the Monocyte Activation Test (MAT), a rabbit-free, in-vitro human-based alternative for pyrogen testing. The company's central proposition is that safety testing for parenteral drugs and medical devices can be both more humane and more relevant to patients: MAT assays use cryopreserved human monocytes to mimic the human fever reaction to pyrogens, detecting both endotoxin and non-endotoxin pyrogenic contaminations where the traditional Rabbit Pyrogen Test (RPT) has limits.
The product line has two elements. MAT kits are ready-to-use Monocyte Activation Test kits positioned as a direct alternative to the RPT. The AutoMATR robot is a proprietary instrument that automates pyrogen testing workflows, allowing laboratories to scale the assay without proportional increases in hands-on effort. Both are supplied to pyrogen and endotoxin testing laboratories serving the pharmaceutical and medical device industries worldwide.
MAT Research operates to ISO:9001:2015 and works as a team of scientists who co-develop and validate MAT solutions with leading pharmaceutical companies. Its stated mission is to replace animal-based testing, saving animal lives while increasing patient safety. The company explicitly supports the European Pharmacopeia's vision of replacing animal-based tests with MAT by 2026, and positions its work as part of the broader transition from animal-based to in-vitro human-based pyrogen testing that it has led since 2016.
