Virtual Disease Laboratories: exploiting in silico models in the pharmaceutical industry

What could the Solution be used for?

Simomics has developed Virtual Disease Laboratory technology that enables effective exploitation of in silico models, providing an online platform to explore, evidence, share and communicate the model and its results. This technology can increase confidence in in silico and mathematical model outputs, accelerating their uptake and the potential to reduce the number of animals used in the development of new products and drug treatments.

Need for collaboration

Simomics seek a collaborator(s) with access to an existing or in-development in silico model that is used within drug/product development and provides a 3Rs impact. Simomics will work with the collaborating model developer to evidence and visualise the collaborators model and will require an element of their time to build the Virtual Disease Laboratory to suit their needs.

3Rs impact assessment

• Replacement benefits arise from in silico models being used to understand the science and data behind disease, drug interactions, dosing and toxicity instead of using animal experiments.
• Reduction benefits arise from better experimental design or by narrowing the range of experiments that need to be performed. Quantification of 3Rs impacts from in silico approaches varies per project.

As an example, the Virtual Disease Laboratory has been applied to an in silico model used to identify potential Leishmaniasis parasite drug targets. Of 96 possible targets, only one was deemed promising enough to justify in vivo validation, reducing the number of animals required for this study by at least 960.

For more information or to contact the Solution provider: https://nc3rs.org.uk/crackit/virtual-disease-laboratories-exploiting-silico-models-pharmaceutical-industry