| Virtual Tumour Models of how a cell responds to a drug are usually based on a single cell. However, a cell culture experiment will use millions of cells and a tumour contains billions. These populations contain cells that have mutated and are at many different stages of the cell cycle or have become quiescent, hypoxic or entered apoptosis. The concentration of the drug will also vary with time and cell position. A population of cells therefore responds differently to a therapeutic than a single cell. The aim of the Physiomics virtual tumour project is to extrapolate from single cell models to cell populations. Using SystemCell Technology® each cell in the modeled population is represented by a software agent running a combined cell cycle/apoptosis model. The drug concentration profile is generated from PK-Sim™. The result is a complete Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) model, that simulates the behaviour of individual cells inside a growing tumour. The virtual tumour can be used to simulate experiments involving cell cultures or actual tumours. Each cell in the population can have different parameters, to simulate state (for example normal or malignant, stage in cell cycle) as well as genetic variability. The aim is to use this technology to optimize clinical trial design. All cancer therapeutics that entered clinical trials first had to pass pre-clinical cell culture and xenograft tests. Yet only 5% on average get approval by regulatory authorities. The virtual tumour will be an essential tool for improving the success rate of clinical development.
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