The Use of Cell-Based Assays for Translational Medicine Studies
Cell-based assays are an important tool in drug development. One of the biggest challenges when developing a drug is mimicking the appropriate physiological setting to predict the mechanism of action and safety profile when a drug is administered in vivo. However, appropriately designed cell-based assays can provide a solution for this by recreating the key components of the physiological setting in vitro. Such assays can be utilized to provide information ranging from off-target effects and potential toxicity to effective dose ranges. Prior to moving a drug into an in vivo model, it is crucial to understand what happens at the cellular level in response to the compound or molecule. Cellular assays enable characterization of the activity and safety of a potential drug early in development. Generating this data early in the process allows for key decisions to be made which increase the chance of success in later stages of drug development by guiding the design of in vivo proof of concept studies and even informing aspects of later preclinical stage studies as well.
