BREAKING: The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, just became the first research institution in the state to receive a groundbreaking federal grant, totaling $30.6 million over three years. This funding was announced today by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and aims to develop digital models of the human heart for drug testing.
This innovative project will utilize advanced technology to create accurate simulations of heart function, addressing a critical issue in drug development. Currently, many promising medications fail during clinical trials due to unforeseen cardiotoxicity, where drugs adversely affect heart function. Alicia Jackson, director of ARPA-H, emphasized the project’s importance, stating, “Too many promising medicines fail late, after years of work and enormous cost, because our best tools still don’t reliably predict how a drug will behave in people.”
The grant is part of a larger initiative, with ARPA-H announcing funding for eight projects nationwide focused on creating computer models that replicate human biology. These models will help predict drug safety and effectiveness before clinical trials begin. According to Matt Mahoney, principal computational scientist at Jackson Lab, the funding will enable the team to remove reliance on animal models, which often do not provide complete predictions regarding human responses.
“We’re tremendously excited,” Mahoney said in an interview. “ARPA-H wants big, ambitious projects. The idea of taking animal models out of pre-clinical safety evaluations and doing better with artificial intelligence and simulation is a tremendous opportunity. It’s really exciting.”
The Jackson Laboratory, employing over 1,000 people at its Bar Harbor campus, will likely expand its workforce to support this innovative initiative. While Mahoney did not disclose the exact number of new positions, he noted the significance of the grant for the lab’s growth and impact in the biomedical field.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) praised the award, highlighting its unique status as the first of its kind for Maine. “This more than $30 million grant is a testament to the incredible work happening at The Jackson Laboratory that has the potential to dramatically reduce the time and cost of drug development,” Collins stated in a news release.
As the project moves forward, the focus will be on using a combination of AI methods and human cellular models to simulate virtual human populations. This approach aims to provide a more accurate assessment of drug toxicity, potentially revolutionizing the way drugs are tested and approved.
Stay tuned for further updates on this pivotal development in biomedical research, as the Jackson Laboratory sets a new standard for drug testing and safety prediction.
