Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet despite massive investment in drug discovery, the progress of cardiovascular drugs from lab to clinic remains slow. It is a complex, costly pathway from drug discovery to the clinic and failure becomes more expensive as a drug...

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Main Author: Jenny Shepherd
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Biomimetics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/4/204
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author Jenny Shepherd
author_facet Jenny Shepherd
author_sort Jenny Shepherd
collection DOAJ
description Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet despite massive investment in drug discovery, the progress of cardiovascular drugs from lab to clinic remains slow. It is a complex, costly pathway from drug discovery to the clinic and failure becomes more expensive as a drug progresses along this pathway. The focus has begun to shift to optimisation of in vitro culture methodologies, not only because these must be undertaken are earlier on in the drug discovery pathway, but also because the principles of the 3Rs have become embedded in national and international legislation and regulation. Numerous studies have shown myocyte cell behaviour to be much more physiologically relevant in 3D culture compared to 2D culture, highlighting the advantages of using 3D-based models, whether microfluidic or otherwise, for preclinical drug screening. This review aims to provide an overview of the challenges in cardiovascular drug discovery, the limitations of traditional routes, and the successes in the field of preclinical models for cardiovascular drug discovery. It focuses on the particular role biomimicry can play, but also the challenges around implementation within commercial drug discovery.
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spelling doaj-art-d55a91e0aa6b4479b83d85569499d4812025-08-20T03:14:23ZengMDPI AGBiomimetics2313-76732025-03-0110420410.3390/biomimetics10040204Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac DiseaseJenny Shepherd0School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UKCardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet despite massive investment in drug discovery, the progress of cardiovascular drugs from lab to clinic remains slow. It is a complex, costly pathway from drug discovery to the clinic and failure becomes more expensive as a drug progresses along this pathway. The focus has begun to shift to optimisation of in vitro culture methodologies, not only because these must be undertaken are earlier on in the drug discovery pathway, but also because the principles of the 3Rs have become embedded in national and international legislation and regulation. Numerous studies have shown myocyte cell behaviour to be much more physiologically relevant in 3D culture compared to 2D culture, highlighting the advantages of using 3D-based models, whether microfluidic or otherwise, for preclinical drug screening. This review aims to provide an overview of the challenges in cardiovascular drug discovery, the limitations of traditional routes, and the successes in the field of preclinical models for cardiovascular drug discovery. It focuses on the particular role biomimicry can play, but also the challenges around implementation within commercial drug discovery.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/4/204drug discoverycardiac disease3D culturebiomimetics
spellingShingle Jenny Shepherd
Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease
Biomimetics
drug discovery
cardiac disease
3D culture
biomimetics
title Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease
title_full Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease
title_fullStr Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease
title_full_unstemmed Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease
title_short Biomimetic Approaches in the Development of Optimised 3D Culture Environments for Drug Discovery in Cardiac Disease
title_sort biomimetic approaches in the development of optimised 3d culture environments for drug discovery in cardiac disease
topic drug discovery
cardiac disease
3D culture
biomimetics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/4/204
work_keys_str_mv AT jennyshepherd biomimeticapproachesinthedevelopmentofoptimised3dcultureenvironmentsfordrugdiscoveryincardiacdisease