Advances in technology boost quest for life-saving drugs

A group of internationally recognised scientists, including researchers from the University of Edinburgh, have claimed that advances in technologies are set to transform efforts to find life-saving medicines for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.  

The group state in the journal, Nature Reviews Drug Discover, that previous drug discovery efforts have been held back by using decades-old laboratory models of disease.

Now recent developments – such as the availability of stems cells to screen potential therapies – can complement and enhance traditional approaches. Recent advances enable laboratory cells to be grown in three dimensional structures, rather than a flat later as was previously the case. The researchers say that this method offers a better system for testing potential medicines that is more similar to tissues in the body.

Other major breakthroughs such as changes to DNA can also help create better models of disease. More so, advanced imaging techniques that visualise the effects of drug compounds can help to identify the best candidates for patient testing.

The researchers say that funding programmes must evolve to encourage scientists to take advantage of alternative and complementary methods. They also call for faster adoption of these technologies and greater collaboration between scientists and pharmaceutical companies to improve the success rate.

Professor Neil Carragher, co-director of the Edinburgh Cancer Discovery Unit at the University of Edinburgh, said: “The development of laboratory models of disease which accurately predict patient outcomes represents one of the most significant challenges in drug discovery research. Recent advances in several technology fields are providing new research tools and opportunities to develop more disease relevant laboratory models. Such investment in these new alternative drug discovery approaches complement existing discovery research programs and together they promise to advance these projects towards greater clinical success.”