How preclinical design determines whether an innovation truly reaches the patient.

A reliable preclinical study is not just science, it often determines whether a project advances or stops. Data across the biomedical field tell a clear story: most experimental therapies never reach patients, often because the foundations set in preclinical research are too weak.

A meta-analysis of 122 systematic reviews found that roughly 50 % of therapies tested in animals move to human studies, 40 % reach controlled clinical trials, but only about 5 % ultimately gain regulatory approval.¹

Other studies show that more than 90 % of new drugs fail when moving from animal models to human trials.²

These numbers highlight a crucial point: clinical failure often begins with poor preclinical design. A model that does not replicate human biology, lacks statistical power, or ignores clinical context can misguide innovation, waste resources, and halt promising treatments before they make a difference.

At Versa Biomedical, we believe that impact must start at the preclinical stage. That means designing and executing studies that go beyond compliance, studies that replicate real clinical conditions, anticipate challenges, and deliver robust, reproducible data.

Through this approach, our partners are able to:

• Minimise late-stage failures through stronger translational evidence.
• Accelerate innovation cycles by reducing uncertainty and resource waste.
• Improve patient outcomes, ensuring that therapies reach development faster and stronger.

Our team collaborates closely with each partner from the very beginning — selecting the right model, refining the protocol, and interpreting data with clinical translation in mind.

In every study, our goal is to transform data into insight, and insight into impact. Because science alone is not enough, it must be reliable, contextual, and purposeful.

This is what we call Real Impact.
Open Models, Open Futures.

Sources:
¹ Sena et al., “The internal and external validity of animal research: a systematic review”, PLOS Biology, 2024 (journals.plos.org
² Wong et al., “Why 90% of clinical drug development fails and how to improve it”, Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2023 (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov