Translational medicine

Translational medicine is the interface between preclinical research and clinical development. It deals with the translation of, for example, in vitro models or animal models in use in humans. This can be laboratory methods that open up new avenues in diagnosis, but also attempts to explain why certain diseases develop under certain conditions. An example would be the confirmation of a theory ( proof-of -concept ), which was presented with a knock -out mouse to trace in a clinical trial. Or a drug that has been shown in rats to be effective and safe to test in humans. To this end, interdisciplinary teams from the preclinical and clinical work closely together. The teams include depending on the target and a specialist in the fields of biology, biochemistry, biomedicine, bioengineering, medicine, chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacy, physiology, statistics, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, experimental medicine, drug safety. In the development of new drugs that are to come for admission in humans later, even specialists in the regulatory departments are involved at this stage, as it is considered to overcome some ethical and regulatory hurdles before a 'First -in- Man' study can start. By in recent years significantly increased regulatory requirements, there is increasing specialization of the participants in this phase of development. To this end, establish universities increased spin-offs, which take over the transition from purely academic research into commercial development. Sometimes this transition from academic to commercial medical research is known as translational medicine, although it does not quite meet the actual meaning. Since the first steps into clinical application are very expensive and require experience with this very special stage of development, many interesting approaches do not get beyond this step. Thus, the BMBF has established centers of excellence for clinical research, the so-called Coordination Centres for Clinical Trials (KKS ). These are, inter alia, assist in making faster progress from the laboratory experiment takes place at the patient's bed.