Integrated In Vivo Pharmacology: How Disease-Relevant Models Drive Better Drug Discovery Decisions

Bringing a therapeutic candidate from discovery to development requires more than demonstrating efficacy. Success depends on understanding how a therapy behaves in a disease-relevant biological system, how exposure relates to response, and which biomarkers predict meaningful outcomes.

In vivo pharmacology plays a critical role in this process by connecting efficacy, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), biomarkers, and functional outcomes within relevant disease models. Together, these inputs transform early hypotheses into evidence that supports lead selection and progression.

At Sai we are de-risking drug discovery through integrated efficacy, mechanistic pharmacology, tissue target engagement, PK/PD relationships, and predictive biomarker strategies that accelerate clinical translation and enable candidate selection.

A Foundation Built for Translational Research

Sai Life Sciences operates a state-of-the-art animal research facility accredited by AAALAC, reflecting a commitment to high standards of animal care and scientific excellence. Research activities are conducted in alignment with OLAW animal welfare expectations, ensuring ethically governed and scientifically robust studies.

The in vivo pharmacology platform includes more than 250 established disease-relevant models across inflammation and immunology, oncology, metabolic disorders, neuroscience, and infectious diseases. These capabilities are supported by therapeutic-area expertise, translational biomarkers, PK/PD evaluation, bioanalytical sciences, and tailored study design to help advance candidates with confidence.

Therapeutic Area Expertise

Oncology

We provide a comprehensive oncology portfolio encompassing syngeneic, xenograft, and patient-derived xenograft (PDX), and humanized mouse models to support evaluation of efficacy of test compounds, tumor-immune interactions, and combination therapy strategies. X-ray irradiator can be used for myeloablation, bone marrow reconstitution, or total-body irradiation studies before bone marrow transplantation. These models are available for hematological malignancies and immune-mediated disease research. Tumor biology and therapeutic responses can be assessed using advanced imaging technologies, including IVIS® in vivo imaging systems, enabling longitudinal monitoring of disease progression and treatment efficacy.  Comprehensive immune and mechanistic profiling is supported through tumor dissociation workflows coupled with flow cytometry (FACS) and multiplex protein and cytokine analyses, providing detailed characterization of tumor microenvironment changes and pharmacodynamic responses. These platforms enable investigation of oncogene dependence, disease progression, and mechanisms of treatment resistance.

Programs are further supported by integrated PK/PD and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) studies, helping establish exposure-response relationships, evaluate target engagement, and identify appropriate dosing regimens for subsequent efficacy studies.

Inflammation & Immunology

A broad range of disease-relevant models support evaluation of therapeutic activity across inflammatory and immune-mediated disorders. By combining efficacy assessment with cytokine profiling, immune-cell characterization, and histopathology, these studies provide mechanistic insights that support lead candidates and dose selections.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

IBDs are major health risks of sedentary lifestyle and modern diet. Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis, two forms of IBDs affect millions globally.  Animal models of IBDs include DSS induced colitis (acute and chronic), TNBS induced colitis, Adoptive T cell transfer model of colitis and IL-10^-/- spontaneous model of colitis. Each of these models covers distinct aspects of Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease providing comprehensive details about disease pathology. Key assessments in these models are disease activity, body weight changes, colon pathology, inflammatory biomarkers. These endpoints help characterize treatment effects and disease modulation.

Inflammatory Skin Disorders

Skin disorders due to dysregulated immune system and environmental factors significantly affect quality of life of millions of people worldwide. Animal models of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis are Imiquimod-induced psoriasis model, IL23-induced psoriasis model, MC-903 induced atopic dermatitis, Oxazolone induced delayed type hypersensitivity model, DNFB induced dermatitis, KLH‑induced DTH (Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin model), IL-31 induced pruritus/itch, oxazolone induced atopic dermatitis and chloroquine induced pruritus support evaluation of skin inflammation, lesion severity, epidermal alterations, immune-mediated responses.

Autoimmune Diseases: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

Disease-relevant autoimmune models enable comprehensive evaluation of immune dysregulation, chronic inflammation, and therapeutic interventions in both MS and SLE. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and related neuroinflammatory models support the investigation of CNS immune cell infiltration, demyelination, neuroinflammation, motor dysfunction, and functional outcomes associated with Multiple Sclerosis. For SLE, spontaneous lupus-prone models such as NZBWF1/J mice facilitate the assessment of autoantibody production, immune-complex deposition, lupus nephritis, systemic immune dysregulation, and multi-organ pathology, providing translational insights into disease progression and treatment efficacy.

Respiratory Diseases

Sai Life Sciences offers models relevant to acute lung injury (ALI), pulmonary fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), asthma, emphysema. These studies can be integrated with airway inflammation assessments, lung-function measurements, and spirometry endpoints to evaluate structural, functional, and pharmacological responses. Specialized respiratory technologies include Bio-Lite small-animal intubation systems, In-Expose inhalation exposure systems, inhaled drug-delivery platforms, whole-body plethysmography, dual chamber plethysmography, flexi-vent lung-function assessment systems and high-resolution rodent micro-CT imaging.

Fibrosis

Disease-relevant models of liver fibrosis include diet induced and chemical induced, BLM induced lung fibrosis, skin fibrosis, renal fibrosis enable evaluation of antifibrotic therapies across organ systems. Integrated assessment of collagen deposition, tissue pathology, fibrotic biomarkers, and organ function helps characterize disease modification and therapeutic impact.

Metabolic & Cardiovascular Disorders

Obesity

We combine disease-relevant obesity models with advanced phenotyping technologies. Key capabilities include DEXA-based body composition analysis including bone mineral density assessments. Functional assessments using rodent treadmills, imaging and biomarker platforms. The portfolio includes ob/ob and diet-induced obese hGLP-1R mouse models enabling translational support for the evaluation of therapies targeting the human GLP-1 receptor and their effects on body weight, food intake, and metabolic function.

Diabetes, Dyslipidemia and MASH

Disease-relevant models for Type 1 diabetes include chemically induced diabetic model and non-obese diabetic mouse model. Type 2 diabetes models include db/db and ob/ob mouse models that support evaluation of glucose regulation, lipid metabolism, and liver pathology. Integrated biomarker analysis, histopathology, and PK/PD assessments help characterize therapeutic responses and guide progression decisions.

Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular capabilities include models of primary hypertension, secondary hypertension, bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced portal hypertension, pulmonary arterial hypertension. These models enable evaluation of therapeutic effects on hemodynamic, functional, and disease-relevant endpoints to support translational decision-making.

Functional assessment technologies include the Power Lab 26T platform that supports measurement of blood pressure, heart rate and electrocardiography (ECG). Additional capabilities include non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, metabolic cage studies, activity and energy expenditure measurements. Together, these technologies provide a comprehensive understanding of pharmacological responses.

Neuroscience

The neuroscience portfolio spans multiple indications, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Anxiety disorders, Epilepsy, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Movement disorders and Huntington's disease. These models allow researchers to examine therapeutic activity across multiple dimensions of disease biology. Key instrument support for CNS animal models includes EthoVision® XT (Noldus) for automated video tracking and behavioural analysis system, Stoelting Stereotaxic apparatus for precision neurosurgical positioning, MultiClamp™ 700B Microelectrode Amplifier for high-sensitivity electrophysiology amplifier and UGO Basile ECT 57800 Electroconvulsometer for controlled electrical stimulation system for seizure induction.

Pain Research

Dedicated pain assessment platforms include dynamic plantar aesthesiometer, Hargreaves plantar test apparatus and dynamic weight bearing system. These technologies support evaluation of mechanical sensitivity, thermal sensitivity, spontaneous weight distribution, and functional pain-related responses.

Rare Diseases

 Sai Life Sciences supports rare disease research through well-characterized rodent models of Gaucher disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and Pompe disease, enabling evaluation of novel therapeutics, gene therapies, antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), and enzyme replacement strategies. Gaucher disease models recapitulate lysosomal glucocerebroside accumulation and associated systemic manifestations, providing a platform for assessing substrate reduction and enzyme replacement therapies. DMD models, including the widely used mdx mouse, mimic progressive muscle degeneration, inflammation, and fibrosis, supporting evaluation of muscle function, histopathology, and biomarker responses. Pompe disease models reproduce glycogen accumulation in skeletal and cardiac muscle resulting from acid α-glucosidase deficiency, facilitating investigation of enzyme replacement, gene therapy, and next-generation treatment approaches. These models can be integrated with functional assessments, molecular and histopathological endpoints, biomarker analyses, and PK/PD studies to support translational drug development and candidate selection for rare disease programs.

Infectious Diseases

For infectious disease research, pathogen-specific systems include key bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens can be integrated with biomarker assessments, dose-response analyses, and efficacy endpoints. This approach supports mechanism-based hypothesis testing and informed candidate selection.

Scaling Science Without Compromising Quality

A broad portfolio alone does not create value. The ability to select the right model, apply the right endpoints, and create actionable insights is what helps make better decisions.

Sai Life Sciences supports this through a dedicated team of approximately seventy in vivo pharmacology scientists and the infrastructure required to conduct multiple studies in parallel across therapeutic areas. By integrating disease-relevant models, biomarker-led endpoints, PK/PD understanding, and therapeutic expertise, Sai Life Sciences helps transform preclinical observations into evidence that supports confident candidate progression.