New Frontiers in 3D Visionaries Speak roundtable Episode 1: Animal-Free Drug Safety Testing: Challenges and Opportunities Drug safety testing is an essential part of drug R&D. New drug candidates must be tested in animals before they can enter first-in-human trials. The current animal testing paradigm has proven advantages as well as significant weaknesses. Alternative methods are increasingly being used to compensate for these weaknesses. In this roundtable, our panelists discuss challenges and opportunities for applying in vitro and in silico models in drug development to improve translation to patients. Panelists: Dr. Stefan Platz from AstraZeneca, Prof. Thomas Hartung of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Prof. Armin Wolf from InSphero AG.