Southern Research has received an $8 million National Institutes of Health grant to build a shared-use biomedical research facility focused on developing and validating methods that reduce reliance on animal testing in drug discovery and development.
The Birmingham, Alabama-based nonprofit will establish the Translational Hub for Research, Innovation, Validation, and Excellence, known as THRIVE. The facility will support new approach methodologies, or NAMs, encompassing laboratory, computational and data-driven techniques designed to reflect human biology.
THRIVE will work with collaborators to develop and apply these methods to specific research needs, comparing their performance against existing animal and human data. The aim is to generate evidence that researchers, drug developers and regulators can use to assess whether particular approaches are suitable for their work.
NIH investigators, other U.S. government researchers, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies will have access to Southern Research’s models, data and expertise through the facility.
Harry Ledebur, Southern Research’s chief operating officer, said THRIVE would bring together human-relevant models, advanced analytics, reference data, and scientific and regulatory expertise to benchmark the methods and evaluate their applications.
The facility will be located near Station 41, Southern Research’s commercialization hub, which supports biotechnology startups through an incubator, accelerator and therapeutics fund. That proximity is intended to give early-stage companies access to resources for testing and advancing potential therapies.
THRIVE will operate alongside Southern Research’s existing preclinical and translational research capabilities. The organization said the facility would connect research and validation services with the company formation, investment and commercialization activities available through Station 41.