A life science investor with extensive entrepreneurial experience, Brian Frenzel continues to serve as an executive and advisor to startup companies developing new medical products, such as Tosk, Inc. and SanBio, Ltd. In the discovery and development of new drugs, Brian Frenzel is a strong supporter of research techniques that use Drosophila melanogaster. Tosk, Inc. uses Drosophila as its primary new drug screening tool.

1. THE BENEFITS OF
USING DROSOPHILA
FOR BIOMEDICAL
RESEARCH
Brian Frenzel

2. Introduction
• A life science investor with extensive entrepreneurial experience,
Brian Frenzel continues to serve as an executive and advisor to
startup companies developing new medical products, such asTosk,
Inc. and SanBio, Ltd. In the discovery and development of new
drugs, Brian Frenzel is a strong supporter of research techniques
that use Drosophila melanogaster.Tosk, Inc. uses Drosophila as its
primary new drug screening tool.
More commonly known as the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster,
and other species of the genus Drosophila, have provided scientists
with a tremendous tool for understanding genetics since their first
introduction to the laboratory in 1901 byWilliamCastle at Harvard
University. Early research on Drosophila resulted in many
important discoveries, such as the location of genes on
chromosomes and that X-ray exposure can cause mutation.

3. Drosophila
• Today’s biomedical researchers continue to use Drosophila,
particularly in the fields of genetics and regenerative medicine.The
ease of obtaining Drosophila and its ability to reproduce make it an
ideal research subject. Drosophila’s genetic similarities with
humans and other mammalian species allow researchers to
economically test the mechanisms of genes that cause diseases in
humans and to explore possible treatments. Research has shown
that two thirds, or more, of human disease-causing genes have
analogs in Drosophila.