Chaos theory could lead to models that aid drug selection
Mathematical models based on chaos theory are to be developed by a European Union (EU) research project to help pharmaceutical manufacturers assess whether a potential drug will be successful.
Mathematical models based on chaos theory are to be developed by a European Union (EU) research project to help pharmaceutical manufacturers assess whether a potential drug will be successful.
The aim of the €10.7 million BioSim Network of Excellence project is developing simulation models for designing, selecting and testing of drugs, rather than relying on standard trial and error.
'The lengthy and costly development process for a drug could be reduced by two to three years in time, and lead to a significant reduction of the use of laboratory animals and test persons,' said a European Commission note.
A BioSim model would translate biological knowledge into mathematical equations, allowing computers to assess during the initial stage of drug development its effectiveness 'even before the first molecule is produced'.
Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk is involved, with 26 EU universities, nine small-and-medium-sized companies, and the national medicines agencies of Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.
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