Flies as the ointment: Drosophila modeling to enhance drug discovery

Development of a drug and its safe therapeutic application necessitates using animal models for testing purposes. While testing with mammalian models is essential prior to approval for human trials, the use of invertebrate animal models that are amenable to molecular genetic manipulations provide experimental and biological advantages that can streamline the discovery and testing process. Among the benefits of a genetics-based approach is the ability to screen for genes/proteins that may be novel drug targets, and the expedited development of genetic backgrounds that more accurately reflect a specific disease state. An invertebrate model may provide a more robust phenotype for screening, a situation that may arise when there is unanticipated genetic redundancy present in the mammalian model. Finally, the comparatively short generation time and fecundity of invertebrate models allows for increased experimental throughput. Together, these factors may contribute towards savings in time and cost during the drug discovery process.