By Mark Johnson, M.S. Senior Director of Surgery
Classically, pharma, biotech, and device researchers have relied on rodent models to discover and validate disease targets and mechanisms, as well as for the preclinical development of therapeutics. However, the biology of rodents often fails to accurately predict outcomes in patients – perhaps not surprisingly, as mice are not simply miniature people, but have differences in immune function, lifespan, hematological function, regenerative capacity, and environment (sterile and controlled versus complex and dirty). This lack of translational validity has contributed, in part, to the high failure rate for drug development, particularly in the expensive clinical stage. The use of models in larger animals can help address some of these differences between rodents and human, particularly in cardiovascular disease.