Revolutionizing Drug Discovery with h-VIOS
In a groundbreaking achievement for the field of drug discovery and development, Taci Pereira, Ph.D., CEO of Systemic Bio™, a subsidiary of 3D Systems, has been announced as the winner of the prestigious 2025 SLAS Innovation Award, sponsored by HighRes Biosolutions. This accolade recognizes her exceptional presentation: h-VIOS: A human-Relevant Drug Discovery and Development Platform Using Bioprinted Human Tissues.
The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) made the official announcement on January 29, 2025, during their International Conference held in San Diego, California. The SLAS Innovation Award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize, is bestowed upon the most outstanding podium presentation that demonstrates significant advancements in laboratory technology.
Pereira’s presentation stood out among the finalists for its revolutionary approach to accelerating drug discovery and enhancing safety evaluation processes. This proprietary technology leverages bioprinted human tissues to create more accurate models for drug testing, potentially transforming the pharmaceutical industry's approach to preclinical studies.
Pereira delivered the award-winning presentation that showcased the h-VIOS™ platform's capabilities. The technology's ability to mimic human biological systems more closely than traditional methods has garnered significant attention from the scientific community. By utilizing bioprinted vascularized organ models, the h-VIOS™ platform allows for the early identification of safety concerns in drug development, particularly for complex therapeutics like antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
What sets the h-VIOS™ platform apart is its potential to capture risks that are often only discovered during clinical trials, even after non-human primate studies have failed to flag such issues. This capability could dramatically reduce late-stage failures in drug development, saving time, resources, and potentially lives.
The SLAS Innovation Award is not just a recognition of achievement but also an investment in the future of drug discovery. As part of the award, Systemic Bio's groundbreaking work will be featured in upcoming issues of SLAS Technology or SLAS Discovery, further amplifying the reach and impact of their important research.
Pereira expressed enthusiasm about the recognition: "We are honored to receive the 2025 SLAS Innovation Award. This acknowledgment from SLAS validates the potential of our h-VIOS™ platform to revolutionize drug discovery and development. We believe this technology will play a crucial role in bringing safer, more effective treatments to patients faster than ever before."
As the scientific community continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in laboratory automation and drug discovery, Systemic Bio's h-VIOS™ platform stands as a testament to the power of innovation. The 2025 SLAS Innovation Award not only highlights Systemic Bio's achievement but also signals a new era in drug development, where bioprinted human tissues and advanced data analytics converge to accelerate the path from laboratory to life-saving treatments.
For those interested in learning more about Systemic Bio's award-winning research and the SLAS 2025 conference, further details can be found at www.slas.org/2025. As we look to the future, it's clear that innovations like the h-VIOS™ platform will continue to shape the landscape of drug discovery, offering hope for more effective treatments and improved patient outcomes.