TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Medical University has partnered with the University of Cambridge to research treatments for digestive diseases, explore new drug-testing methods, and develop a research platform, CNA reported.
At a Wednesday seminar, the two universities signed a cooperation agreement. Kelvin Tsai (蔡坤志), director of Taipei Medical University’s Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, said the medical sector is reducing animal testing and increasingly using human-derived tissue models to improve drug trial outcomes.
Traditional drug development relies on animal testing, but differences between humans and animals often lead to high clinical trial failure rates, Tsai noted. He added that animal models are costly and time-consuming, and that growing awareness of animal welfare has sped up efforts to reduce their use in drug testing.
Human-derived tissues are grown from samples taken from people affected by diseases, allowing them to replicate human physiological features and cellular changes. These tissues can speed up the development of new drugs.
Tsai said human-derived tissue models have been widely used for testing drugs targeting digestive diseases. He noted the partnership will focus on improving drug testing on these tissues, jointly developing biological indicators, and creating new treatments for digestive disorders.
Matthias Zilbauer, director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge, said global cases of digestive diseases are rising each year due to stress and lifestyle changes. He added that cultivating human-derived tissues from gut cells could help develop more effective treatments.
Taipei Medical University Director Wu Mai-szu (吳麥斯) said the partnership will also establish a platform that will include samples from Taiwanese children affected by digestive disorders. He added that more young and middle-aged people in Taiwan are affected by these disorders.
Wu highlighted that the university has expanded research on human-derived tissues, including growing such tissues from stem cells. It has also developed organ-on-a-chip technology, a micro-scale system that replicates the structure and function of human organs.
