Screening out irrelevant cell-based models of disease

Area of Science:

• Drug discovery and development
• Translational medicine
• Preclinical research

Background:

• Current preclinical drug discovery models often fail to predict clinical success, leading to high attrition rates.
• A lack of adoption of advanced cell-based models and insufficient clinical relevance in assay validation hinder translational research.
• Ineffective disease models contribute significantly to the persistent failures in translating preclinical drug candidates to clinical success.

Approach:

• Propose principles for defining and developing disease-relevant assays to improve preclinical model effectiveness.
• Explore novel cell-based assay technologies, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), 3D co-cultures, and organ-on-a-chip systems.
• Leverage advances in single-cell imaging and gene editing technologies to enhance preclinical models and screening.

Key Points:

• Development of disease-relevant assays requires clear principles and validation against clinical practice.
• Emerging technologies like iPSCs, 3D co-cultures, and organ-on-a-chip systems offer improved physiological relevance.
• Integrating advanced imaging and gene editing can refine cell-based screening and model development.

Conclusions:

• Implementing proposed principles and adopting advanced cell-based technologies can enhance the clinical relevance of preclinical models.
• Multidisciplinary collaborations are crucial for developing and validating novel preclinical models and screening technologies.
• Increased investment in precompetitive research for advanced preclinical models is essential to improve drug discovery success rates.