**4. Conclusion**

Two-dimensional and 3D cell culture models have been widely used for improving the productivity of pharmaceutical research and development. It is evident that 3D culture systems hold great potential as a tool for drug discovery compared to 2D cell culture. This is due to the improved cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions, cell populations and structures that similar to *in vivo*. However, there are still hurdles to overcome before 3D systems can be widely used in industry. More studies are needed to promise reproducibility, high throughput analysis and compatibility to demonstrate standardized and validated 3D culture models. In future, development of screening compatible 3D models would help to identify early physiological relevant efficacy and toxicity data in drug discovery.
