About the Event
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) is organizing an Industry Day on Novel Alternative Models (NAMs) in Drug Discovery on Friday, 12th June 2026 at IIT Bombay. The event will bring together researchers, industry experts, policymakers, and innovators to discuss the future of advanced in vitro systems and their transformative role in drug discovery.
IIT Bombay has been actively developing advanced in vitro tissue-mimicking systems aimed at creating more predictive and human-relevant models for drug discovery. With the growing global emphasis on New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), there is a significant shift from conventional 2D cell culture and animal models toward physiologically relevant platforms such as organ-on-chip systems, 3D spheroids and organoids, and biomimetic materials.
Recent advances in engineering these systems now allow precise control over important microenvironmental factors including mechanics, flow, gradients, and cellular organization. These innovations are opening new possibilities for understanding disease biology, evaluating drug response, and studying toxicity in ways that more accurately reflect human physiology.
At the same time, several challenges remain in establishing trust, ensuring reproducibility, achieving scalability, and integrating these systems into existing drug discovery pipelines. This Industry Day aims to address these scientific, translational, regulatory, and strategic dimensions through collaborative discussions among academia, industry, and government stakeholders.
Themes of Discussion
The event will feature discussions, expert talks, panel sessions, and laboratory visits focused on the following themes:
Engineering In Vitro Systems: Past, Present, and Future
Trust, Validation, and Decision-Making: When Are In Vitro Models Good Enough?
Economics, Scale, and Policy Integration of In Vitro Models
Event Highlights
Expert talks by leading researchers and industry professionals
Interactive panel discussions
Laboratory visits and demonstrations
Networking opportunities with academia, industry, and policymakers
Discussions on scientific, translational, and strategic aspects of NAMs
Vision of the Event
By fostering dialogue across academia, industry, and government, the event aims to catalyze the development of robust, scalable, and predictive in vitro platforms, and position India as a key contributor to the global transition toward more efficient, ethical, and human-relevant drug discovery paradigms.
