Objective
Animal models have been a staple tool in drug discovery for decades, and have contributed to the successful development and safety testing of many compounds. However, the failure rate of drugs has increased year on year and the cost of drug development has risen concomitantly. The translational rigour of animal modelling paradigms has come under the spotlight as one potential component of attrition, with poorly predictive models contributing to drug failures.
Human tissue has been used for research for many years but in a fragmented manner, and biobanking has traditionally been poorly supported. Human tissue-based tools including induced pluripotent stem cells and organotypic culture make the creation of models of human physiology/disease possible. Combined with interdisciplinary research producing on-chip devices to house tissue constructs, and other enabling technologies, we now have the ability to build human-relevant models for drug development.
Here, we present examples of successful human tissue use during drug development and outline some of the ways the NC3Rs and others are supporting the uptake and development of human tissue-based methods. This includes the results of a survey and workshop output examining human tissue use in safety and oncology. By harnessing human tissue for research, animal numbers can be reduced and predictivity to human improved.
