About Us

The Biomedical Research for the 21st Century (BioMed21) Collaboration grew out of a 2015 review publication authored by a diverse, international group of stakeholders representing animal protection, research funding, academic, regulatory, corporate and other communities, which recognized the human relevance and translational limitations of the current paradigm in biomedical research and drug discovery, and the need for change.

Our Collaboration brings together scientists and institutions from across Europe, Asia and the Americas who share a vision of a new, human-focused paradigm in health research. This unique mix of health research stakeholders provides both a broad, global outlook as well as deep ties at regional and national levels. We welcome new collaboration opportunities with like-minded organizations and individuals.

What would a new approach look like?

A cornerstone of a new approach is an organizing framework linking molecular initiating events in disease pathways and networks with adverse outcomes, akin to the “adverse outcome pathway” (AOP) approach under development in toxicology. Such a framework could provide a more predictive and effective rubric for understanding disease pathophysiology across levels of biological organization, and for targeting and evaluating new interventions using the growing toolbox of modern, human-specific approaches such as 3D tissue models, microfluidic organs-on-a-chip, computational systems biology modelling, and others.

How we work

Breaking the siloes — We’re building a global network of health research stakeholders, together with a one-stop-shop for funding opportunities, relevant publications and other resources to help break down siloes and promote more effective sharing of information among scientists in different countries and research domains.

Funding reviews — We’re supporting open-access publication of independent scientific reviews that explore the concepts of AOPs and human-specific models across a variety of human diseases, with recommendations for new research directions and opportunities utilizing the growing toolbox of 21st century, human-specific tools and technologies.

International workshops — We’re stimulating strategic scientific dialogue on regional and global levels, bringing key stakeholders together to explore and develop consensus recommendations around barriers, opportunities, and priorities for future research funding.

Collaborations — We’re building exciting new partnerships with academic, corporate, research funding and other stakeholders to advance our shared vision.

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