British researchers are launching an initiative to cultivate miniature human organs and tissues, known as organoids, derived from NHS patients’ cells. These tissue models will be used to advance pharmaceutical testing methods while decreasing reliance on animal testing in drug development.
Organoids are tiny clumps of human tissue that have been grown in laboratories for over a decade. Recent research demonstrates that these miniature structures, which can be smaller than a millimetre, can replicate important characteristics of full-sized organs and tissues, including how they respond to disease and react to pharmaceutical treatments. Scientists intend to use organoids grown from diseased tissues to determine whether experimental drug candidates can reverse pathological changes in patient populations and to identify ineffective drugs earlier in the development pipeline.
Historically, more than 90% of drugs that successfully pass animal testing ultimately fail when tested in human trials, raising questions about the reliability of traditional animal models. Regulatory agencies in the United States and Europe have begun encouraging alternative testing approaches. Researchers argue that many human diseases do not occur naturally in animals or manifest differently due to biological differences, making animal models less suitable for determining which treatments will work in specific patient groups.
A Cambridge research hub, funded with £20m from the Medical Research Council, will coordinate this effort and develop a standardized library of validated organoids for use by academic researchers and pharmaceutical companies. The initiative aligns with the government’s strategy to reduce animal use in research through new methodologies including organoids, organ-on-chip systems, and artificial intelligence applications. Initial focus areas include inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, as well as cancer and neurological conditions.
Additional funding of £2m from Innovate UK has been allocated to nine projects aimed at reducing animal use in safety testing. One company is developing heart cells in gel spheres to replace traditional cardiac safety assessments that currently require 50 to 100 animals per test.
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