Preclinical drug development: How to simulate the human body

Invent: Life Sciences

From cosmetics to medicines, animal testing is still widely mandated by regulators. Up to now, there have been few other ways to gather information about the potential human response to drug candidates. But are animal models still the most effective way to test drugs before we use them in humans? Or are these in vivo models outdated, ready to be replaced by innovative new in vitro models of drug development? In this episode of TTP Invent: Life Sciences, we take a look at some of the fascinating alternatives to animal testing in drug development, before assessing what new realms of medicine these new methods could soon open up - from replicating your organs on a chip, to regenerating entire tissues.

Find out more on this week's episode of Invent: Life Sciences from TTP.

This Week's Guests

Professor Molly Stevens FRS FRENG

Molly is Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine in the Departments of Materials and Bioengineering at Imperial College London. Following a postdoc working on tissue engineering methods with Bob Langer at MIT, Molly set up her own group at Imperial in 2004. The Stevens Group is a multidisciplinary research group using innovative bioengineering approaches to address key problems in regenerative medicine and biosensing.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-stevens-81742822/

Dr. Lorna Ewart
Lorna is the CSO at Emulate, a company that creates advanced in vitro models for understanding how diseases, medicines, chemicals, and foods affect human health. Lorna is passionate about the pursuit of drug discovery and development. After working in the Microphysiological Systems Centre of Excellence within AstraZeneca, and beginning her own firm Veroli Consulting, Lorna is now renowned for her expertise in Organ-Chips and Organoids.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lornaewart/

Professor Maria Kavallaris

Maria is best known for her pioneering work in children's cancer. Last year she and collaborator Justin Gooding were awarded the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes for their contribution to a 3D bioprinting technology that promises to revolutionise cancer research, and her work on tumour cells, drug resistance, nanotechnologies and bioprinting have produced countless new discoveries to the field.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariakavallaris/

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