英国科学家计划利用NHS患者的细胞培育微型人类器官和组织，用于药物测试，以减少对动物的依赖。[1]这些被称为类器官的微观组织能够反映全尺寸器官的关键特征，有助于识别针对不同患者的最优治疗方案。[1]剑桥医学研究中心将主导该研究项目，已获得英国医学研究委员会2000万英镑的资金支持。[1]
现有药物测试模式的局限性促使这一转变。[1]超过90%通过动物测试的药物最终在人体试验中失败，[1]这表明动物模型在预测人类反应方面存在重大缺陷。[1]剑桥干细胞研究所的Matthias Zilbauer教授指出，"一只老鼠无法告诉我们什么有效"。[1]英国目前动物测试的使用规模仍很庞大——2024年进行了254万次动物测试，同比下降3.8%，其中90%以上使用小鼠、大鼠、鱼类和鸟类。[1]传统心脏安全测试往往需要50至100只豚鼠、兔子和犬类。[1]为进一步推进替代方案的开发，Innovate UK为9个旨在减少犬类和灵长类动物使用的项目提供了200万英镑的资金。[1]
UK scientists will cultivate tiny human organs and tissues derived from NHS patient cells to test pharmaceuticals, aiming to reduce reliance on animal experimentation [1]. These structures, known as organoids, replicate the essential characteristics of full-sized organs and can help identify the most effective treatments tailored to individual patients [1]. The research initiative will be operated by a Cambridge medical research center and has secured £20 million in funding from the UK Medical Research Council [1].
The shift toward organoid-based testing addresses a significant gap in current drug development practices. More than 90 percent of drugs that pass animal testing ultimately fail in human trials [1], highlighting the limitations of animal models in predicting human response. Professor Matthias Zilbauer stated that "a mouse can't tell us what works" [1], underscoring the mismatch between rodent biology and human physiology. Traditional approaches to cardiac safety testing typically require between 50 and 100 guinea pigs, rabbits, and dogs [1]. Innovate UK has allocated £2 million in funding to nine additional projects specifically designed to reduce the use of dogs and primates in research [1]. In 2024, the UK conducted 2.54 million animal tests, representing a 3.8 percent decline from the previous year, with over 90 percent of these tests involving mice, rats, fish, and birds [1].