Series: Every Moment Matters
This podcast series was made in collaboration with Charles River Labs.
November 7, 2025
Every Moment Matters: Navigating the Complexities of Drug Discovery
Discovery is a complex and high-risk process in drug development, as researchers strive to identify and advance promising therapeutic candidates. It requires scientific prowess, advanced technologies, and strategic vision to navigate through potential obstacles with agility. With this episode, Big4Bio is kicking off an occasional series on discovery sciences with Charles River Labs, which, over the past five years, has contributed to more than 80 percent of novel FDA-approved drugs. We spoke with Charles River Labs’ chief scientific officer of discovery Justin Bryans, and Charles River Labs’ vice president and chief scientific officer for discovery and safety assessments, Steve Bulera, about the challenges of drug discovery, why every moment matters, and the benefits of the collaborative approach Charles River takes in working with its partners.
Every Moment Matters: How NAMs Are Rewriting the Rules of Antibody Discovery
As we continue our Big4Bio occasional series on discovery and safety assessment with Charles River Labs, we explore new approach methodologies, or NAMs, and their integration with antibody discovery and development. We spoke to Charles River Laboratories’ Senior Principal Scientific Advisor Sarah Gould and Charles River Laboratories’ Scientific Business Director Omar Aziz about the evolving landscape of predictive toxicology, regulatory efforts to advance alternatives to animal testing, and the role of collaboration and strategy in accelerating therapeutic programs from concept to the clinic.
Every Moment Matters: Transforming Discovery with Organoids
Organoids¬—miniaturized, three-dimensional, lab-grown, tissue cultures that mimic organs¬—can be used to improve drug discovery and safety testing by providing more predictive human biology models than traditional 2D cultures or animal testing. In this episode in our continuing series on discovery sciences with Charles River Laboratories, we explore the use organoids as powerful tools within the arsenal of New Approach Methodologies. We spoke to Charles River Labs Senior Research Leader Ludovico Buti, and Charles River Labs Chief Technology Officer for Discovery David Fischer, about the use of organoids, how Charles River is integrating these powerful tools into its work, and their potential to transform early discovery.
Every Moment Matters: Integrating AI into Drug Discovery
Charles River Laboratories is leveraging its deep discovery sciences expertise with advanced computational tools to accelerate drug development, improve safety, and reduce animal use. In this episode of our continuing series on discovery sciences with Charles River Labs, we explore the company’s use of the Logica AI platform and virtual control groups. We spoke to Charles River Labs Senior Science Director Alison Jones and Director of Digital Product Management, Discovery, and Safety Assessment Laura Lotfi, about how AI is accelerating the discovery process, how data is a differentiator, and the enduring role of human scientific judgment in therapeutic innovation.