A breath of the future: a novel human model for COPD and beyond

We have cured chronic lung diseases, including COPD, in mice many times. However, translation to clinical application has failed in most cases. Why is this the case and what can we do about it? One of the reasons for this is that mice are simply not small humans. Developing novel human lung models will help us in identifying more promising novel therapeutic strategies, thereby hopefully leading to therapeutic options that translate to the clinic.