Innovative testing system speeds the development of antiparasitic drugs

“Roundworms literally have to keep swimming to stay alive in animals’ digestive tracts,” says Lucien Rufener, CEO of INVENesis. “But with most methods currently used to develop dewormers, the roundworms are inactive and just sit at the bottom of the test plate.” The INVENesis system, on the other hand, prompts the worms to swim from one point to another. “That lets scientists observe how a drug candidate affects the way the parasite moves and immediately eliminate those that wouldn’t be effective inside an animal.”