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By using “models” such as
animals or cells, researchers try to predict the answers they would
obtain directly if they could perform the experiments in humans.
These models are key components of any R&D project, since the quality
of the results obtained relies mainly on the intrinsic ability of
the model to predict the human response accurately. In recent years,
genetically manipulated animals, like humanized mouse, have proved hugely promising tools
to decipher physiological processes. Since the physiology of the
animal used is different from human physiology, false positives
(very promising results obtained in biological models turned out
negative in humans) and false negatives (programs stopped owing
to poor results obtained, e.g., in the mouse, even though in humans
the results would have been excellent) dramatically reduce the final
quality of the research. Therefore, increasing the predictability
(ability of a model to predict human physiology) through genetic
manipulation is recognized as a key success factor and as the ultimate
way to shorten drug development time. Obtained with classical transgenesis or homologous recombination, humanized mouse is a powerful research toll to in vivo decipher physiology.
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