Center for Contemporary Sciences and Methuselah Foundation Announce New Roadmap to Replace Ineffective Animal Testing with 21st Century Human-Relevant Models

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Dec. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Center for Contemporary Sciences (CCS) is announcing a new partnership with the Methuselah Foundation to help create an ecosystem that incentivizes and supports the discovery and application of bioengineered human-relevant models. To that end, the Methuselah Foundation has created a guideline, titled "Animal Free Precision Medicine" roadmap.

Currently, the biomedical system relies almost exclusively on using animals as "models" for human diseases. The same is true for the development of drugs and vaccines. That is despite overwhelming evidence documenting the ineffectiveness of animal testing. In fact, the current paradigm of drug development is time consuming, expensive, and markedly ineffective with a 90- 95% failure rate. Perhaps the biggest concern is that misleading results in animals have resulted in the premature abandonment of useful drug candidates that could have worked on humans.

To bring medical science into the 21^st century, the Methuselah Foundation Roadmap outlines six major stages to move the biomedical system from the current phase of animal testing to ultimately a stage in which precision medicine is established. The design takes advantage of the growing value of engineered in vitro and in silico models that are based on human biology. The final stage is expected to culminate in the establishment of personalized medicine, improvement in outcomes for patients in clinical trials and drug development, and healthy life extension so that "90 becomes the new 50."

Bioengineered human models such as organ chip models are already outperforming animal tests in certain areas and will continue to improve with more government investment and support from all levels of stakeholders, including patients, investors, healthcare groups, research scientists, drug companies, and regulators.

The Center for Contemporary Sciences is working with the Methuselah Foundation to make the Roadmap widely available and to initiate strategies with other stakeholders to make precision, personalized medicine a reality. The Roadmap is freely available HERE - and is the beginning of more actions to come.

"We are thrilled to share this Roadmap for a better future for human health and animals," says CCS CEO and Co-founder Dr. Aysha Akhtar. "The Methuselah Foundation's mission to accelerate ethical human-relevant models is very much in line with CCS's goal to replace all animal testing with superior methods in 30 years.  With partners like the Methuselah Foundation, we are confident that we can bring in a new era of personalized medicine." 

"The Methuselah Foundation is proud to support The Center for Contemporary Sciences who are accelerating the scientific advancement and rapid transition to animal free precision medicine," says Methuselah Foundation Co-founder and CEO, David Gobel. The animal model paradigm is not only increasingly outdated, but harmful to both humans and animals. It is our deep wish to build a world with vastly superior, human-relevant based solutions to animal testing as soon as possible. Healthy human life extension with true precision medicine while sparing the suffering and lives of countless animals is mission-critical to us. We are thrilled to recognize the efforts of The Center for Contemporary Sciences to help make this a reality."

About the Center for Contemporary Sciences
Center for Contemporary Sciences (CCS) is a nonprofit pioneering a paradigm shift towards innovative, evidence-based research methods that are based on human biology. We champion technologies that are better for humans and that replace animal testing.

About the Methuselah Foundation
The Methuselah Foundation is a non-profit medical charity focused on extending the healthy human lifespan by making 90 the new 50 by 2030. We incubate and sponsor mission-relevant ventures, fund research, and support projects and prizes to accelerate breakthroughs in longevity.

SOURCE Center for Contemporary Sciences