New Approach Methodologies in Biopharmaceutics: Towards a More Humane Drug Development

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Biopharmaceutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 2711

Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department Engineering Pharmacy Section, Miguel Hernandez University, San Juan de Alicante, 03550 Alicante, Spain
2. Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica del Norte, Angamos, Antofagasta 0610, Chile
Interests: bioavailability and bioequivalence; ADMET; QSPR; biopharmaceutics classification system; in vivo-in

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Materials, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK
2. Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK
3. School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, AV. VICUNA MACKENNA 4860, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Interests: biopharmaceutics; dissolution; permeability; pharmacokinetics; modelling

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Farmacia, Escuela de Química y Farmacia, Facultad de Química y de Farmacia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Interests: biopharmaceutics; drug absorption; modeling; oral dosage forms; pulmonary dosage forms; physical pharmacy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Animal testing has been widely used by the pharmaceutical industry at different stages of drug development. In fact, studies in pre-clinical models are key milestones before advancing into first-in-human trials. The 3Rs principles, replacement, reduction, and refinement, have been proposed to conduct more humane animal research. In recent years, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has acknowledged their commitment towards reducing animal testing. This initiative relies not only on the ethical concerns of experimentation in animals, but also on the physiological differences between humans and animal models. In this regard, the development of new approach methodologies (NAMs) has the potential of producing more reliable human models than animals. NAMs include, but may not be limited to, advanced computational models, human organoids and organ-on-a-chip systems.

Biopharmaceutics is the branch of pharmaceutical sciences that study the interaction between physicochemical properties of the drug/formulation and the physiological aspects of the route of administration. Hence, biopharmaceutics can be used to guide the rational development of drug products. Accordingly, the development of physiologically relevant NAMs would be highly attractive to screen promising drug candidates, predict drug absorption, select the route of administration, design enabling formulations and/or assess comparative bioavailability (bioequivalence) between drug products. The embracement of such new technologies would be key to advance towards a more humane drug development process.

With this Special Issue, we aim to provide a platform for exchanging research, innovations, and views, from academia, industry and regulators, on the development of (in vitro and in silico) NAMs for biopharmaceutics purposes. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Biorelevant in vitro dissolution;
  • In vitro permeability methods;
  • Organoids and organ-on-a-chip methods;
  • Effect of excipients on drug biorelevant dissolution or permeation;
  • Physiologically based biopharmaceutic models;
  • Artificial Intelligence-based models;
  • Novel devices for biopharmaceutic characterization (e.g., 3D printing).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Miguel Ángel Cabrera-Pérez
Dr. Daniel Hachim
Dr. Mauricio A. García
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biopharmaceutics
  • new approach methodologies
  • model and simulations
  • organoids
  • organ-on-a-chip
  • biorelevant in vitro dissolution
  • In vitro permeability
  • effect of excipients
  • biopharmaceutic-oriented drug development

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 4340 KB  
Article
Identification of Reactive Metabolites of Acetaminophen and Saxagliptin in Human Hepatocytes and Hepatic Organoids
by Im-Sook Song, Minyeong Pang, Min Seo Lee, Jihoon Lee, Kwang-Hyeon Liu, Min-Koo Choi, Han-Jin Park, Hyemin Kim and Hye Suk Lee
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(4), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18040483 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 930
Abstract
Objectives: This study aims to identify the reactive metabolite of acetaminophen (AAP) and the cyanopyrrolidine metabolite of saxagliptin in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic organoids (HHOs) and to compare them with human liver microsomes (HLMs) and plateable cryopreserved human hepatocytes (CHHs) [...] Read more.
Objectives: This study aims to identify the reactive metabolite of acetaminophen (AAP) and the cyanopyrrolidine metabolite of saxagliptin in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic organoids (HHOs) and to compare them with human liver microsomes (HLMs) and plateable cryopreserved human hepatocytes (CHHs) to evaluate the feasibility of HHOs for reactive metabolite screening and metabolite profiling. Methods: AAP (50 μM) or sax-agliptin (50 μM) was incubated for 1 h at 37 °C in HLMs with or without NADPH-generating solution and 0.5 mM reduced glutathione (GSH). AAP (50 μM) was incubated for 24 h in HHOs and CHHs at 37 °C in a CO2 incubator. AAP and saxagliptin metabolites in the reaction mixtures were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. ResultsN-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) was identified in the incubation mixture of HLMs with AAP, and its levels were reduced in the presence of GSH, accompanied by increased formation of AAP–GSH adduct. Incubation of AAP with HHOs for 24 h resulted in the formation of NAPQI, AAP–GSH, AAP–glucuronide, and AAP–sulfate. Moreover, CYP1A2 induction using omeprazole treatment increased the formation of AAP and AAP–GSH conjugate from phenacetin, reflecting enhanced CYP1A2 activity in both CHHs and HHOs. The findings indicate that HHOs are a suitable platform for reactive metabolites, such as NAPQI and AAP–GSH adducts, under chronic exposure and metabolic modulator intervention. Additionally, CHHs and HHOs exhibited similar saxagliptin metabolite profiles after incubation with saxagliptin and generated cysteine conjugates of saxagliptin and its hydroxylated metabolite. Conclusions: HHOs system can be used as an in vitro model for screening reactive metabolites, comparable to those obtained with CHHs. Full article
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Review

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32 pages, 3014 KB  
Review
Application of New Approach Methodologies to Improve Oral Biopharmaceutic Assessments
by Mauricio A. García, Miguel Ángel Cabrera-Pérez, Pablo M. González, Alexis Aceituno and Daniel Hachim
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(5), 552; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18050552 - 30 Apr 2026
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The rapid expansion of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) is transforming oral biopharmaceutics by offering mechanistically rich, human-relevant tools that can reduce reliance on animal testing while improving translational confidence. Regulatory agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The rapid expansion of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) is transforming oral biopharmaceutics by offering mechanistically rich, human-relevant tools that can reduce reliance on animal testing while improving translational confidence. Regulatory agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), are increasingly open to NAM-generated evidence, provided that methods are fit-for-purpose and scientifically justified. This review synthesizes current advances and evaluates how NAMs can be integrated across drug-development stages to enhance the prediction of oral absorption, formulation performance, and regulatory decision-making. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted across classical and emerging methodologies, including in vitro permeability and solubility models, organoids, organ-on-a-chip (OoC) systems, machine learning frameworks, and mechanistic approaches such as the physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) and biopharmaceutics (PBBM) models. Emphasis was placed on physiological relevance, predictive performance, validation status, and regulatory applicability. Results: Classical tools remain essential for the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS)-based biowaivers and risk-based assessments, yet they often lack physiological fidelity. NAMs provide enhanced representation of intestinal architecture, hydrodynamics, transporter activity, and metabolism. Organoids and microphysiological systems generate high-quality permeability and metabolic data, while computational NAMs enable scalable prediction of ADME properties and formulation behavior. When integrated into PBPK/PBBM models, these methods have great potential in predicting in vivo performance in humans. Evidence demonstrates that NAMs can refine, reduce, and, in specific contexts, replace animal studies without compromising scientific rigor. Conclusions: NAMs complement, rather than displace, classical biopharmaceutic tools, enabling a more mechanistic, human-centered, and ethically responsible framework for drug development. Their effective implementation will depend on continued validation, standardization, and regulatory harmonization as the field transitions toward fully NAM-supported biopharmaceutical assessment. Full article
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