Biomedical Research Should Focus on Nonanimal Methods

In recent years, toxicology and regulatory testing have progressively moved away from the use of animals to test toxicant effects toward the use and implementation of human-based, animal-free approaches. These approaches include sophisticated stem-cell-based models, computational methods, and recently developed microfluidic technologies. A recent article comments on the need to apply this new conceptual framework in the area of biomedical research as well. In particular, considering that human diseases are generally determined by a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic factors, applying innovative, human-specific models might help elucidate which signaling pathways get perturbed at the onset and consolidation of a given disease (the so-called “disease pathways”). This approach could help overcome past and current failures in health research, drug discovery, and clinical translation.