The long path to a medicine

2. Basic research requires animal models

A new medicine – or diagnostic agent to detect and identify diseases – starts with basic biomedical research, which looks for mechanisms that lie at the root of diseases at the level of cells, cell components or even individual molecules. Scientists deploy a wide range of modern methods for this, including animal models. These models enable scientists to reproduce life processes as they occur in humans and to understand diseases. With its insights, research establishes the requirements for actually searching for new medical substances. Only if you have a point of attack (usually a target molecule), you can search for a substance that actively interferes in the disease process. The search and “construction” of suitable substances is usually a process lasting several years that is made up of hundreds of individual steps. A great many substances are investigated to determine whether they show the characteristics required of a product. Computer-based procedures serve well here, replacing animal experiments today to a considerable extent.