British scientists have commenced a groundbreaking project at Cambridge University’s research center to grow miniature human organs from cells of NHS patients. The initiative, funded with £20 million, aims to create more accurate models for drug testing and disease research.
The organoids, which mimic the structure and function of real organs, will enable researchers to study how specific diseases develop in individual patients and determine the most effective treatment approaches. This technology is expected to significantly reduce reliance on animal testing in medical research.
“We are not saying that the use of animals will completely cease in the near or foreseeable future, as some issues still cannot be tested in new models, but reducing their use is quite realistic,” said Matthias Silbauer, clinical professor of pediatric gastroenterology at the Cambridge Institute of Stem Cells.
As part of the project, researchers plan to develop organoids for inflammatory bowel diseases, cancer, and neurological disorders. By using human tissue-derived models, scientists believe they can more precisely predict how drugs interact with the body.
