Vaccine testing and development is an extremely lengthy and complex process that costs billions of dollars every year.

In an effort to dramatically improve the speed and success of vaccine research and development, researchers have created an innovative biomimetic model of the human immune system known as the MIMIC® system.

An article in the inaugural issue of Disruptive Science and Technology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., describes this artificial human immune system which can facilitate faster, more effective vaccine development.

"Our goal is to increase the likelihood of success within the clinic - to make better drugs and vaccines and get them into the marketplace and to the patients faster," says William Warren, PhD, Head of the VaxDesign Campus, Sanofi Pasteur. "This in vitro human immune system enables us to measure vaccine efficacy earlier and more predictably."

The MIMIC® platform represents a truly disruptive technology for the study of vaccines and other biologics with immunomodulatory potential, as it provides a novel in vitro model for evaluating human immune responses against candidate drugs, adjuvants, and vaccines. It has shown game-changing advantages over conventional approaches to safety and efficacy testing.