Shift in attitude is key to efficient drug development

According to researchers relevant disease model systems should be combined with the latest methods of genome editing, micromanipulation and IT processes.


23rd September, 2016


The error rate produced by drug discovery and development in prominent university research centres and R+D laboratories of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies runs in the millions of dollars. The basic causes are the parallel tracks of conservative attitudes and precompetitive research. The proportion of successful drug development processes could be significantly raised if 21st century disease model systems were applied instead of traditional cell models, especially if this change was accompanied by effective high-level coordination and an appropriate support system. This change is proposed to the scientific public by the European Cell-based Assays Interest Group (EuCAI) in their study published in one of the most prestigious life science journals, the Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.

Computational biologist Péter Horváth is a senior research fellow at the MTA Szeged Research Centre for Biology, and also a founding member and president of EuCAI (European Cell-Based Assays Interest Group) The aim of this organization which includes researchers from leading European universities and research centres is to facilitate new scientific discoveries by promoting the freshest methods and model systems for basic and pharmaceutical research. Its main aim is to assist academic and pharmaceutical R+D work by coordinating discussions, tender possibilities and possible ways of development. According to Péter Horváth, the primary goal of their article published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is to highlight the importance of high level research coordination and relevant disease modeling.