The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) wherein somatic cells from the human body could be turned into pluripotent stem cells is a game-changer for science and medicine. Human iPSCs can give rise to multiple cell types and can be derived from any individual, for eg. a patient with a relevant pathology.
The lack of relevant models also affects industry as well as organizations conducting basic and translational research. iPSC derived models can contribute to different stages of the drug discovery pipeline, starting from target identification, lead optimization to pre-clinical trials by:
Unraveling human-specific patho-mechanisms
Predicting the adverse effects of drugs before market launch
Discovering new therapeutic targets with fewer adverse effects
Discovering etiology-specific therapies
During the webinar - "Alternative preclinical models to revolutionize cardiac and CNS drug discovery" - our senior neuroscientist Radhika Menon will discuss how therapeutic developers can harness the full power of iPSC technology to their benefit.