Robot protocol able to cut time and cost of Phase III drug
trials by 70 percent.
The development of drugs to treat acute stroke or aid in
stroke recovery is a multibillion-dollar endeavor that only rarely pays off in
the form of government-approved pharmaceuticals. Drug companies spend years
testing safety and dosage in the clinic, only to find in Phase III clinical
efficacy trials that target compounds have little to no benefit. The lengthy
process is inefficient, costly, and discouraging, says Hermano Igo Krebs, a
principal research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.