Vrije Universiteit Brussel
CePhaR: Center for Pharmaceutical ResearchGeneral information
All in vivo, in vitro and in silico models developed are used in safety and efficacy studies of pharmaceuticals. More detailed information on the specific research fields of the CePhaR units can be obtained on the corresponding logos below.
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The Center for Pharmaceutical Research (CePhaR) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel consists of four units (FABI, FAFY, FASC and MICH) involved in various stages of pharmaceutical R&D, from early lead selection to the assessment of efficacy and safety of finished products. Innovation is the driving force. Our goal is to deal with key bottlenecks in the pharmaceutical R&D process of today, including search for appropriate biomarkers and the development of better in vivo and in vitro models for human health and disease. In vivo models for neuronal diseases are developed and used in the predictive pharmacology, for proof of concept of beneficial drug-target interaction, to elucidate pathophysiological mechanistic pathways and evaluate new and existing compounds. Whenever possible, in vitro models and screens are introduced, thereby maximally reducing the suffering and the overall number of laboratory animals required. 
Predictive in vitro toxicological research is successfully performed as an alternative to in vivo experimentation. In particular, fields of interest are long-term hepatotoxicity, drug interaction and biotransformation. Innovative in vitro technologies are being developed, including the production of functional human hepatocytes from adult stem cells of different tissues. The experienced use of analytical, chemometric, immunological and molecular biology techniques lies at the basis of the development of in silico models, including quantitative structure-activity relationships and pharmacokinetic and -dynamic modelling, both applied to study intestinal absorption and blood-brain barrier passage of candidate molecules. Furthermore, emerging fields such as progenitor cell technology, reprogramming and epigenetic modification of cells, "-omics" application and data mining are explored.
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