Two Stevenage scientists have developed a 3D human lung model that can assess the safety of new drugs without the use of animal testing.

The ground-breaking model was developed by Doctor Abigail Martin during her PhD research at the University of Hertfordshire, before she joined forces with her supervisor, Professor Victoria Hutter.

Dr Martin said: "Having worked on drug development projects that involve animal testing, I’ve seen the difference that new drugs can make to patients' lives.

"However, I felt there had to be a better way and set out to look for an alternative.

"Our model not only enables companies to move away from animal testing, but also improves safety for patients too."

Two years ago, Dr Martin and Professor Hutter launched a company called ImmuONE - a biotech company based in Stevenage that has generated over £1 million in revenue.

It enables companies developing new products such as drugs, chemicals or cosmetics to meet legal requirements by showing they are safe to be inhaled.

ImmuONE’s approach, which involves growing human lower lung tissue and immune cells in a laboratory to create a 3D model, enables companies to avoid the use of animals.

The biotech company has raised a £2 million investment to enable their company to move into new headquarters in Milton Keynes, and into new laboratories in Stevenage, to meet growing demand. 

The financial backing is from the MEIF Proof of Concept and Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia Ventures.

Hannah Tapsell, of Mercia, said: "Around 90 per cent of drugs shown to be safe and effective in animals do not work as planned in humans, which is one reason for the high failure rate in drug discovery.

"With growing demand for more effective testing models and pressure from consumers to replace animal testing, ImmuONE fills a clear gap in the market.

"Abigail and Victoria have not only created a powerful innovation, but also achieved remarkable success in building a fast-growing business."