It costs an estimated $2.6B to bring a single molecule to market, of which 90 percent fail clinical studies. And we don’t know why.
During this briefing, WIRED’s deputy global editorial director, Greg Williams spoke with Professor Yaakov Nahmias, founder of Tissue Dynamics, regarding the future of drug development and how it is dramatically increasing clinical success rates by using sensor-driven discovery.
During a clinical study, “we can’t predict adverse events” explains Prof. Nahmias. “One reason for failure is a lack of predictive knowledge—but the second is mechanism of action. Many times we find the molecule that works, but we don’t understand its mechanism. The moment we don’t know that but we still take it to the clinic we see an unexpected problem” continues Prof. Nahmias.
This is a huge problem for drug developers, as no new learnings can be extracted from failed studies—a problem Tissue Dynamics is committed to solving.
“There are critical differences between how animals and humans behave” says Prof. Nahmias. “Mice have completely different genetics from humans, especially where it counts in their metabolism. So, a lot of the things we find in rats and mice simply don’t translate to the clinic”.
By using a human-relevant model (as opposed to animals) and integrated sensors within microscopic living tissues, users can communicate with tissues as well as receive and send information in a way that wasn’t possible before.
Watch the full conversation here.
Prof. Yaakov “Koby” Nahmias is a bioengineer and innovator, whose breakthroughs ranged from the first 3D printing of cells to the first commercial human-on-chip technology.
Designed as an extension of WIRED’s long-running live conference portfolio, WIRED Briefings are punchy, deliberate and engaging sessions that reflect the same high calibre of speakers and programming featured at a WIRED event. Part of the WIRED Foresight series, curated by WIRED deputy global editorial director, Greg Williams.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK