NCATS Director's Corner: Better Predicting a Medicine’s Safety and Efficacy
NCATS-supported tissue modeling technologies offer a path to more treatments for all people more quickly
From Joni L. Rutter, PhD — Director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Our vision is more treatments for all people more quickly. A major obstacle we face to achieving that future is the reality that 9 of 10 new medicines that show promise in the laboratory fail in clinical trials because they are either ineffective or too toxic. For many of these medicines, the problem stems from the conventional models used in early testing. As British statistician George Box so aptly put it, “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” The typical animal models and cultured 2-D human cells don’t adequately mimic the structure and function of our cells, tissues, and organs.
Two of our earliest initiatives have tackled this challenge head-on. Our Tissue Chip for Drug Screening and 3-D Tissue Bioprinting programs set out to develop and use 3-D human tissue models for drug discovery and development. Now, with partners and colleagues from around the world, these approaches are getting us closer to the models needed to better predict the safety and efficacy of new medications before they reach clinical trials and, ultimately, save lives.
The evolution of 3-D human tissue models showcases our translational science principles in action, especially the principle of emphasizing creativity and innovation...
