The MDI Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) has appointed James Strickland as Director of MDI Bioscience, a new initiative focused on using non-mammalian models in early drug discovery and development.
Background
Strickland brings experience in pharmaceutical development to his new position, in which he will leverage the MDI Biological Laboratory’s 124-year history of using non-mammalian animal models such as zebrafish and C. elegans for scientific research to fill a need in pharmaceutical discovery and development for pre-clinical models that bridge the gap between isolated systems such as cell cultures and mammals such as the mouse or rat.
Context
The focus of MDI Bioscience, a division of the MDI Biological Laboratory, also aligns with efforts on the part of US and European pharmaceutical regulatory authorities to minimise the use of mammals in drug research.
Focus
MDI Bioscience will initially focus on potential drugs to treat diseases of the kidney but will expand the range to include drugs that target diseases affecting other organ systems such as the heart, liver, metabolic conditions, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Official comments
Strickland said: “For every 5000 drugs discovered, only one makes it to market. There is a tremendous need for increased efficiency and better decision-making tools in drug discovery. MDI Bioscience can better inform early decision-making in drug discovery such that there is a higher probability that drugs will be successful in the future – that the right drug is developed and receives the right priority.
“Research on mammals such as the mouse has been the foundation for the discovery and development of essential medicines. Using novel models such as zebrafish as well as non-animal systems such as three-dimensional cell structures can help reduce the reliance on mammals in the future. Our approach can de-risk drug development by introducing the use of non-mammalian models such as zebrafish and nematode worms earlier in the pharmaceutical development process.”
Hermann Haller, President of the MDI Biological Laboratory, added: “Medicine has a pressing need for tools to make drug development more efficient and less wasteful so that we can get new medicines to market more quickly. With his experience, skills, and insight, Jim is ideally qualified to take advantage of the lab’s unique capacity to meet that need.”
Image credit: Marko Pende
